Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/3a56lv
On a winding road in rural Kentucky there is a house that for years had always caught my attention and begged a question. For well over 20 years this house had been under construction. It never seemed as if it would ever be finished.
As a teenager I remember driving past that house on the way to my grandparent’s home. The house was constructed and mostly finished. But outside the house there remained a pallet of unused bricks, a pile or two of sand and some construction equipment.
Time after time I would drive by that house and notice that not much if any progress had been made since the last time. Bricks were laid only partially up the sides of the house and were left in an obvious state of incompletion. Before long, the house was being lived in, even though the exterior of the house was incomplete.
After 17 years of marriage we moved back into that area and once again I found myself traveling that winding road. And guess what I saw? That’s right. The house that had been left unfinished when I was a teenager was still in a state of incompletion even then. Amazing.
All kinds of thoughts crossed my mind both as a teen and later as an adult. How could anyone build a house and never finish it? Did they run out of money? Were there no people around who were skilled in laying brick? Surely they were aware of this problem. Perhaps they just got discouraged and gave up. I’ll probably never really know the reason for this being left undone.
Unfortunately, it is pretty common to see things that people start and never finish. For example, a person may make a new year’s resolution to lose weight and exercise more.
“Do you want to lose 30 pounds and be in the best shape of your life?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Do you want to be filled with energy?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Do you want to get up an hour earlier each day to jog or walk a mile or two?”
“Uh, no. You mean I’ll have to exercise. I’m not sure I want to do that.”
Sometimes we see the benefits to reaching a goal, but are unwilling to pay the price to reach it. In our spiritual lives this also can happen. Jesus tells about the importance of counting the costs of discipleship in Luke 14:26-33
If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it — lest, after he has laid the 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 to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
Friends, over 90% of the population of the United States believes in God and most also believe in heaven. Yet, the majority of these people are unwilling to count the costs and pay the price of discipleship to Jesus Christ.
To be a disciple one must be willing to elevate Christ above family and friends and be willing to forsake all that one has in order to be a part of Christ. Most everyone agrees that the goal (heaven) is worthy. But not all will count the cost of getting there.
On Our Daily Walk today, may we use this moment to thank God for His love and for His word. May we also reaffirm our commitment to be loyal to Him knowing that the cost of disobedience is far greater than the cost of discipleship.
Our thought for the day: “Walking with Christ helps us to enjoy our standing with Christ.”
May God bless you on your daily walk.
© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.
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