How much does it cost to follow Jesus?
The cost of following Jesus is very high. You have to deny yourself (Mark 8:34) and give up everything material and non material that used to be in your old life. You step into an brand new exciting life of many challenges and rewards. You must give up everything so you can make space for the new things that to come. You gotta totally detach yourself from the world and everything in the world (1 John 2:15) everything has got to go ( Luke 14:33) To show what a great price it is to follow God, Jesus didnt even have a place to lay his head. Times will come when we will have to endure similar testing because of our commiyments to christ, but we will be blessed if we endure until the end (James 1:2-5). Some people wanna do certain things first before they totally commit their lives to God, when you do this you putting God 2nd in your life and heonly deserves 2st place he does not bless those who dont put him 1st in their lives. the disciple was obviously a little hurt by what Jesus said but he had to obey. Jesus meanth that we should let the spiritually dead look after the dead things of this world. God and his Kingdom work are of the utmost importance. Nothing can possibly be put above them, not even family. A third disciple actually wanted to go say good bye to his family first before he followed Jesus. This showed that he was still attatched and Jesus told him that a farmer cannot put his hand on the plow and then look back (Luke 9:62) when you look back its a sign that you are thinking about your old ways and are contempplating on going back to your past life and this is unacceptable to God, a christian who wants to go back to his old ways is like a dog going back to its vomit (2 Pet 2:22). You have to keep your eye on the prize of following Jesus and keep pressing towrds the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14). Never have a desire to go back to your old habits and ways like the israelites wanted to Go back to Egypt. It is an insult to God and the blood of Christ, you are actually telling God that hes not good enough for you and youd rather indulge in the things of your past life.
Created over 2 years ago
