Luke 14:25-33 (NRSV)
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Verse 25Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, Verse 26"Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Verse 27Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Verse 28For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Verse 29Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, Verse 30saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Verse 31Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? Verse 32If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. Verse 33So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
Devotion
Pick up your cross and follow me... How many of us have done this lately? In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." Are we living a life in which we truly push the threshold of doing God's work in a way that forces others to question us and put us on trial? I suppose the answer is "No". I suppose that most of us today have no intentions of being martyrs for the sake of some cause. But perhaps like you I too have found myself asking what difference I am making in the lives around me. Martin Luther King, Jr. was another man of faith who died so young for something so great. Today, we might ask ourselves what the cross means in our own faith journeys—we might ask what it would cost to truly call ourselves "Christians."
Prayer
God of life, we ask you to center our thoughts and actions on your son, our savior and Lord. For many of us, life has become monotonous and repetitive—life has become pointless activity. Give us courage today to become someone different. Give us courage to live our lives for others, rather than for ourselves. Amen.