“Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If
anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and
children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my
disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my
disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and
count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has
laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going
out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate
whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with
twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a
delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does
not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 14:25-33 ESV
https://www.bible.com/59/luk.14.25-33.esv
I like this passage because it really shows how forthright Jesus really was. He
pulled no punches. Yes, Jesus is loving, forgiving, graceful, and kind but has clear
expectations of discipleship. He wants you to know the cost of discipleship
BEFORE you commit. You’re getting no silver spoon here. Are you willing to give
everything up for him? Your Ohana, your worldly stuff take the second seat to
carry a cross up a hill to be crucified beside Jesus. Anything less means you
cannot be His disciple.
Sometimes, we blur Jesus so we gain believers. Yes, He is amazing but demands
to be absolutely number one in your life. Search deep in your heart. Based on
what Jesus has said, are you truly a disciple? Are you willing to sacrifice what He
said to become one?
by Kent Brosh a Kawaiaha’o Blog Contributor
Alberta, Canada
