We make hundreds of decisions all day long.  Some are decisions are done without thinking.  We decide to get out of bed and stumble to the kitchen.  We decide we not only want but need that coffee we are now making as we yawn.  We then decide if eating breakfast is “really the most important meal of the day” thinking is it worth the time and effort to prepare.  As coffee is consumed, we decide what to wear from shoes to shirt.  We decide we need help in this decision so we turn on the news and weather to check what will be appropriate for this day. We make decisions and pick from options before us.  Whatever we choose will affect the agenda ahead of us. 

Whatever the situation or circumstance is before us—we gotta pick one or the other.  That’s life—making choices.  Mentally we count and calculate the cost of our decisions and choices. Emotions (how we feel that day) can sway our choosing.  Our physical abilities can play a huge part in our decision making as well.  At this point we think we are in charge as we make decisions in all the details of our lives. 

But have we stopped to consider the Spiritual implications of our choices?  Jesus says, we must “let it all go if we decide to follow Him.”  What is it?  It is life as we see it from our limited and sometimes skewed perspectives.  Relying solely on our own, decisions are merely human without the benefits of His holy plan, purposes, and presence in and for us.

“Are you listening, really listening?” Jesus asks as he leans in with love and compassion. Do you understand, really believe Me, and understand what I am asking of you?

Luke 14, The Message

Figure the Cost

^25-27 One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, “Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple. Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.

^28-30 “Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘He started something he couldn’t finish.’

^31-32 “Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can’t, won’t he send an emissary and work out a truce?

³³ “Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple.

^34-35 “Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it’s useless, good for nothing.

“Are you listening to this? Really listening?”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

As we make the decision to follow Jesus (or not) we must “count the cost”:

• There is no holding back any part of our being.  We do not “add” Jesus to our lives and agendas—He is our life.
• There is no putting one foot in step with Jesus while keeping the other foot in step with the world.  Imagine it—that’s actually physically and spiritually impossible!
• There is no giving a piece of us but the whole of us to Jesus. We are all in or all out.  No in-between.  “This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you’re not on my side, you’re the enemy; if you’re not helping, you’re making things worse.”—Jesus, Luke 11:23, MSG
• Once we decide—there’s no turning back.
• Life is Jesus or not—we gotta pick and stick with Him—at all costs!
• Not following Jesus is too great a cost.

Max Lucado writes—

“While these characteristics are all too common, Jesus’ stories explain that pride, laziness, and the desire for honor have no place among his disciples.

Being a disciple of Christ requires humility, commitment, and servanthood.

Make no mistake, Jesus saw himself as God. He leaves us with two options. Accept him as God or reject him as a megalomaniac. There is no third alternative.”

“When it comes to Christ, you’ve gotta pick. Call him crazy or crown him as King. Dismiss him as a fraud or declare him to be God. Walk away from him, or bow before him, but don’t play games with him. Don’t call him a great man. Don’t list him among decent folk. Don’t clump him with Moses, Elijah, Buddha, Joseph Smith, Muhammad, or Confucius. He didn’t leave that option. He is either God or godless. Heaven sent or hell born. All hope or all hype. But nothing in between.  Putting Christ first in all things takes practice and persistence. Day after day we learn to follow him.”

We are not perfect.  God knows that.  But through Jesus, we are perfectly forgiven.

We must choose this day whom we will serve.  Decide wisely.

Lord,

I have decided to follow you, through the good times and challenging times of this life, I will follow you.  Where you guide, you provide.  Where you lead, you protect.  You have provided all that I need in so many ways since making this decision.  When the enemy attacks, you have already won the war and this assures me of victory in my skirmishes with evil.  Yes, there is no turning back, seriously, no turning back.

In Jesus Name, Amen