In Luke 14, Jesus finds himself among a throng of adoring fans. He's a celebrity or at least a novelty. Everyone wanted to follow this man some were calling the Messiah, the savior of humankind. Rumor had it that he could heal people and multiply food. Jesus was a celebrity or at least a novelty. In the midst of this hoopla. In the midst of the throngs of adoring fans, Jesus invites the crowds to rethink their enthusiasm.

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes, even his own life - he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple."

As Evangelical Christians, it is difficult to imagine these verses at the top of our next marketing campaign. It is almost unthinkable for us to discourage people from following Jesus. But Jesus doesn’t seem all that concerned that some of his followers might choose to go home. Jesus doesn't seem all that concerned that he's setting the bar pretty high.

Jesus lays it out there plain and simple.

"Go deeper or turn back" or as they say in sports, "Go big or go home".

"IF you want to follow me, it will cost you your life as you now know it."

Now it is important to keep in mind this is not a text about "being saved". It is important for us to remember that salvation costs us nothing. It cost Jesus everything, but for us, it is a free gift that we can only open our arms to receive. But this is not a text about salvation, it is a text about discipleship and discipleship comes with a cost. That's why Jesus gives each of us an option out. That's why there is an "if" at the opening of this phrase. If you want to be my disciple…

Jesus then goes on to tell two parables about people who have started something they could not finish. You must count the cost, "otherwise when you have laid a foundation and are not able to finish all who see it will begin to ridicule you saying, 'This person began to build and was not able to finish.'"

Jesus sets the bar for discipleship unapologeticaly high because he is leaving the disciples in charge of building his kingdom and he needs to know that they are going to be able to finish what he started. He cannot have disciples who start strong and never finish, otherwise people will begin to ridicule the faith he is about to give his life to form. And so, with no smooth advertising campaign, with no promise of health or wealth, Jesus lays out the cost of discipleship pure and simple so that all will know just exactly what they have signed up for.

The cost of discipleship?

"In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything they have cannot be my disciple."

The first disciples were called to leave status, safety, career, comfort, family and future and the call remains the same for us today. Now this is not to say that disciples of Jesus will not have status, or safety, career, comfort, family and a future. It is to say that we give up our self-centered right to determine these things. It is to affirm that we have not been given title or deed to our lives, rather we are entrusted with them and are to use them only for the benefit of our benefactor. It is to know Jesus as Savior but to serve him as Lord.

The cost of discipleship …our lives are not our own.

William Barclay, in his book, "The Mind of Jesus" details this relinquishment of ownership in a few simple statements,

• " When I call Jesus Lord, it ought to mean that He is the absolute and undisputed owner and possessor of my life" - which is to say that we belong to him, body and soul;
• " When I call Jesus Lord, it ought to mean that He is the Master, whose servant and slave I must be all my life long" - which is to say that we have elected to serve as his stewards;
• " When I call Jesus Lord, it ought to mean that I look on him as having absolute authority over all my life, all my thoughts, all my actions" - and this includes our ambitions, our relationships, our priorities and our possessions;

The cost of discipleship? The cost is our lives.

For some, the cost of discipleship in the new millenium will mean the laying down of their lives. There will be thousands who will die while proclaiming Christ as Lord. However for most of us, the cost of discipleship will not be to lay down our lives, but to lay down our living, the day-to-day details of our lives. The cost of discipleship for us will be to live in a manner worthy of the one who has called us.

As a disciple it does matter how you drive your car, how you tip your waitress, how you love your spouse, and how you spend your money. It is the everyday details of life that we must lay down. Oswald Chambers states, "It is inbred in us that we have to do exceptional things for God; but we have not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things, to be holy in mean streets, among mean people, and this is not learned in five minutes…it requires the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours in every day as a saint, to go through drudgery as a disciple, to live an ordinary, unobserved, ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus." Not doing exceptional things, but being exceptional in the ordinary things of life. This is the cost of discipleship.

If you find yourself satisfied with eternity, then turn around and go back. You have done all that needs to be done by accepting Jesus as your Savior. However, if you find yourself hungry not just for eternal life, but the fullness of life here on this earth, then discipleship is calling your name and you will find that no cost is too great for the privilege of serving our Lord.

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