And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. "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? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish.' (Luke 14:27-30 NIV)
I remember visiting Thailand and seeing hundreds of unfinished buildings. The foundations had been laid, some even had the concrete framework but the buildings were incomplete. You could see the tension steel in the concrete rusting. There no evidence of workers attempting to complete the structures. The structures remained unfinished and I asked myself why weren't they able finish?
Jesus doesn't make a standard sales pitch here. To follow Him one must be prepared to carry their cross. There is a cost to follow Christ.
It is always exciting when people make a decision to follow Jesus. I am also saddened when people decide to stop following Jesus. What could have been a beautifully constructed building, will now stand as an unfinished building.
Today I see too many people say, "Yes," to following Jesus. They start laying a foundation, but for some reason they decide following Jesus costs too much. I guess the main reason is that they didn't estimate the costs.
Following Jesus is amazing, but it does cost. How are we selling the story of Jesus to those around us? Are they able to sit down and estimate the cost so they can plan to see the building through to completion?
Let's do our best to help people count the cost, carry their cross, finish the building and live life to the fullest forever!
God Speed!
I remember visiting Thailand and seeing hundreds of unfinished buildings. The foundations had been laid, some even had the concrete framework but the buildings were incomplete. You could see the tension steel in the concrete rusting. There no evidence of workers attempting to complete the structures. The structures remained unfinished and I asked myself why weren't they able finish?
Jesus doesn't make a standard sales pitch here. To follow Him one must be prepared to carry their cross. There is a cost to follow Christ.
It is always exciting when people make a decision to follow Jesus. I am also saddened when people decide to stop following Jesus. What could have been a beautifully constructed building, will now stand as an unfinished building.
Today I see too many people say, "Yes," to following Jesus. They start laying a foundation, but for some reason they decide following Jesus costs too much. I guess the main reason is that they didn't estimate the costs.
Following Jesus is amazing, but it does cost. How are we selling the story of Jesus to those around us? Are they able to sit down and estimate the cost so they can plan to see the building through to completion?
Let's do our best to help people count the cost, carry their cross, finish the building and live life to the fullest forever!
God Speed!
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