Counting the Cost of Following Jesus: Are You Ready to Finish the Work?

Counting the Cost Before You Begin

Following Jesus is not presented in Scripture as an impulsive decision or an emotional moment. It is a deliberate commitment that requires understanding, surrender, and endurance. Christ never hides the cost of discipleship. Instead, He calls His followers to consider it carefully before they begin. Many begin the journey, but not all continue to the end.

My other job is remodeling homes. I often find a home for sale that has been gutted, and some remodeling done, but not finished. Often tools and supplies will be left lying around the home, everything in disarray, as if someone just dropped everything and ran.

The previous remodeler didn't count the cost very well. He thought he knew how much it would cost but since he didn't inspect the job thoroughly he was surprised. In order not to lose any more money on the job he just quit.

A House Unfinished

In Luke 14: 28-30 our Lord relates a sobering illustration,

"For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’?"

Jesus is not speaking about construction alone. He is speaking about discipleship. The question is not whether we begin, but whether we are prepared to finish what we start when following Him requires everything. Jesus teaches us that obedience and the way of truth is the way to life.

Hate my family?

What costs are Jesus alluding to? Quite plainly, just prior to this, Jesus says in Luke 14:26,

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."

Several times in the Bible this talk of hating family, even hating your own life, is used as a way to show preference. It is seen in the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 21:15, Malachi 1: 2-3, and Romans 9:13. All are examples of showing preference, not as actual emotional hatred towards someone. Our preference should always be God, no matter the cost.

Christ Above All

Are we counting the cost? When we count the cost are we willing to forego our relationships with our mother or father, with our children, to put Christ first? Are we willing to give up our own lives, either literally or figuratively, for the calling of God?

In the west we have been very spoiled. We rarely sacrifice very little to follow God, but that seems to be changing. Sometimes even our parents may think we are stupid for believing in God. Our children may make fun of us for our quaint, old fashioned beliefs. Society may view us as uneducated or unloving because we won't accept bad and call it good.

A Hopeful Promise

For those called to sacrifice their families or perhaps even their lives, Jesus promises this in Mark 10: 29-30,

“No one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life”

Jesus calls us to "strive to enter the narrow gate." His narrow way is the only way to life.

Giving it All

In Matthew 22:37 Jesus declares the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. The cost is high to serve God. Our Lord's expectations are high. We will love God with all of our heart, soul and mind. Are we prepared to do that? Have we counted the cost? Are we willing to finish after we have laid the foundation or will we run away. Our God of hope is with us to give us the strength to continue, no matter the cost. Thanks be to God.