The Cost of Commitment (Luke 9:57-62)

Chapter 30

THE COST OF COMMITMENT

(Luke 9:57-62)

We have all made commitments verbally that we quickly abandoned.  Our emotions speak louder than our reasoning sometimes.  Meaning we get lost in the moment, not thinking through what we are doing.  Time and time again I see people make commitments to God with their tongue but their actions never follow suit.  

As leaders it is our responsibility to break down what it means to make a commitment to God. We all love to say salvation is free, but it is not, it costs our entire life, our money, relationships, talents. gifts, possessions, everything.  

Jesus drew huge crowds but only a few followed Him.  When He was ministering healing and deliverance people responded, but when He declared the sacrifice it was to be a disciple, people withdrew themselves.  We live in a culture that celebrates those that draw crowds, and reject those that lose the crowd.  Jesus in America today would and is being rejected, for we live in a comfortable, compromising culture, which is at total conflict with the Kingdom of God.  

In Luke 9:57-62 we see someone saying to Jesus "I will follow you wherever you go."  Jesus now breaks down what sacrifices therefore this person will have to make.  It will mean he won't always have somewhere comfortable to sleep, his families demands are no longer his first priority, and he was to leave all his family who were spiritually dead behind and go preach the Kingdom of God.

Jesus is hardcore, his message is hard to swallow, his ways are difficult to follow, that is why many are called but few are chosen.  Many are those who are following an American version of Jesus and not the real thing.  The bible was meant to be literal, taken as is, not something to be interpreted along with the culture and times we are in that fits with our present day lifestyle.  Jesus is radical and so are those that truly follow Him, they stand out as awkward in the world, for they are different, the world hates them, few friends do they have, and much suffering do they experience.  

Jesus knew the ears of most wanted to be tickled, so He stopped speaking in simple terminology but in parables, for only those who had the heart to seek Him would discover the understanding of what He truly said.  He reveals His mysteries to His friends for they are those whom He entrusts for they know Him and can easily relate to what He is saying.

So the questions we must ask ourselves are we following the real Jesus or a phony?  

Are we a true friend of God or a fake, one who is just using God for their own sake, rather than giving oneself to God for His sake?

Relationship takes commitment which costs everything, how committed to God are we really?