Yesterday, we celebrated our national freedom knowing it costs a great deal to remain free. John F. Kennedy once said, “The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it.” I am so proud of our C2C spiritual family for how we support our military and first responders who serve to preserve our freedom no matter what the cost.
In our passage today, Jesus has an encounter with two people who say they want to follow him and embrace his way of living. Certainly, Jesus welcomes these two people, but wants them to know there is a cost that may call for sacrifice of comfort, personal time, family, friendships, and pleasurable habits. To be a follower of Jesus requires loyalty to him as our highest priority.
Being a follower of Christ is not easy, but it is the most rewarding path of life. Our faith in Christ turns us away from selfish inclinations, to focus on the Father’s will and purpose for us. We live to please God; rather than live to please ourselves. So we are wise to count the cost of our commitment.
Matthew 8:18-22 NLT The Cost of Following Jesus
18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he instructed his disciples to cross to the other side of the lake.
19 Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
20 But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”
21 Another of his disciples said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”
22 But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for being so honest with us as your children. We do not have to blindly enter into a relationship with you; we can know the truth right up front. You provide us a choice. Thank you for setting us free from the power and wages of sin and selfishness. Thank you for making us whole in your love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.