Luke 14:27–30 ‘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.”’ (vv29–30)
There are places in some European countries which remain ‘unfinished’ because then a tax on a finished building doesn’t need to be paid.
But, by and large, unfinished building is not a good look and suggests poor planning. In the same way, a mismatched battle suggests that the leaders of the weaker nation may have been advised to seek peace rather than get slaughtered.
Jesus uses these metaphors to urge the need for careful assessment before a person decides to follow Jesus, lest they fail to follow through.
The point is not to ask, ‘Am I able?’ (because no one is!), but to consider the value of following Jesus over and against the cost of not following, or failing to ‘follow through’.
The final statement about ‘giving up’ everything is the logical conclusion to the wonder of new life with Him.
If you were proposing marriage and wanted to continue relationships alongside your marriage, your partner would rightly conclude that the marriage wouldn’t work: it has to be exclusive and, unless they see that, there is no way it should even start.
Thankfully the Christian Church has many people who are ‘wed to Christ’ and delighted with the arrangement, to encourage those who wonder how their faith could ever be so compelling.
But once you have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, there really is nothing to compare, and whatever the old life seems to offer, it is pale in comparison.
A Prayer To Make:
Thank You, Lord, that You are committed to me like a lover to his beloved.
I long to love You back in return. Amen.
An Action To Take:
Consider what would need to happen in your faith for you to be excited about it, so that you would recommend it to others.
Scripture To Consider:
Ps. 19:10–14 and 37:1–7; Mark 10:29–31; Col. 2:1–5
