Thoughts From Luke - Day 68

                                                  Luke 14:25-35

²⁵ Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ²⁶ “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
²⁸ “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? ²⁹ For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, ³⁰ saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
³¹ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³² If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. ³³ In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
³⁴ “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? ³⁵ It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”


        In a spiritual sense,  how is salt made unsalty, thrown out, and trampled. I believe Jesus is saying that if you claim to be a Christian but are only half-in it is seen as phony and people will disregard your faith and discard your witness. You won't be of any relevance to their lives. Also, if you start as a Christian,  like say a Bob Dylan or BJ Thomas or many Christian artists and athletes, and leave the faith, not only are you worthless for the kingdom and a laughing stock to the world,  but you are a detriment to the kingdom of God. 

     Jesus is saying in this passage,  count the cost before you sign up.  Pastor Dan, who I am with on a mission trip,  grew up following his dad, a world renowned evangelist,  around the world.  He recounted to me a story when his dad was invited to speak at a Catholic school in Brazil in '69. After he finished giving the message, he asked all those who wanted to follow christ to stand up. Everyone in the school stood.  He thought to himself,"what have I done wrong? They must have heard wrong." So he had everyone sit down and he preached this passage about giving up everything and  counting the cost. Then he asked for people to stand again and still everyone stood. He had everyone sit and preached even a tougher salvation and they all stood again. Finally a nun came, tugged on his coat and said, "would you just let them get saved? A lot of us have been praying for this for a long time."

         Dan also told me a story about two Moravian missionaries who had a heart to reach a colony of slaves that they could not be allowed access to.  What they did was sell themselves as slaves, use their money to sail to the far away land, and live as slaves there the rest of their lives. Now that is literally being sold out! Have you committed to following christ to that degree? Have I? This is what Jesus wants, expects, and deserves. This commitment,  although scary, is what gives true joy. This commitment is what makes us salty and makes the world take notice.

        Dear father,  help me to continue to die daily and surrender all of my life to You, holding nothing back. Amen