Counting the Cost by Abigail Swanson
Jesus called his disciples to count the cost of following him, like a builder planning for a building, a general planning a war, or a teenager planning to go to college. Following Jesus is a lifetime commitment. Beyond that, following Jesus is a commitment for eternity. But we are not creatures prone to long-term commitments.
The sheer number of times in the New Testament or Old Testament when followers are called to lift up their eyes or not be enslaved by the elemental things they left for Jesus shows how prone we are to backsliding and forgetting. Even the twelve disciples walking beside Jesus lost focus and began squabbling about who among them was greatest. For more proof consult your own heart.
Maybe once, long ago, in a garden, we looked up, but now trials and worries make our focus nearsighted. We forget the things Jesus did in our own lives, let alone his wondrous works of grace in the past or promises for the future. Not to mention we have a prowling enemy seeking to keep our eyes and hearts firmly attached to the perishable. He likes nothing better than for us to be consumed by the present distractions (except perhaps to consume us himself).
But Jesus calls us to a mindset of eternity. Calls us to see the trouble and trials and consider them an unworthy substitute for the eternity he gives us. Which, if we had any perspective outside ourselves, we would see are so, so much better.
Jesus does not want us walking into our lives as Christians with blinders on. He wants us to be wise as serpents but innocent as doves. We can boldly say, the lord is our helper we will not be afraid, but not because we are unaware of the danger and darkness. We know them and feel them very well. But we know the good shepherd better.
Faith and Christianity can be offered as a simple cure-all, a band-aid to slap on. We tell children to follow Jesus even if none go with them. We talk about the burning lake of fire reserved for enemies of God and the bliss of heaven. We talk about the prize of a relationship with God and the tactics to grow in faith.
But do we talk about the trials? Do we count the costs? Do people fall away from the faith because they lose fellowship with Jesus, or because the suddenly see that it is so much more complex than the altar call made it sound?
When Jesus preached on earth he repeatedly said and did things to discourage his followers. He preached on topics he knew would alienate many. Who can understand a man who calls you to eat his flesh and drink his blood? He called his followers to take up their instruments of torture and hate their families. He let himself be arrested and publicly executed in the worst way imaginable. He did not want yes men and sycophants. He did not want people to blindly follow him. Count the cost he said. I come not to bring peace, but war he said.
Why then are we so surprised when troubles come? In this world you will have troubles, he said. But take heart, for I have overcome the world, he said. He is our very present help in time of trouble.
The question, then should not be “Am I willing to follow Christ if it means a life of loneliness?” There is no “if.” Following Christ does mean a life of loneliness. It means a life separated from the primary calling of the world and separated from so many on the broad road.
Do not enter Christianity thinking it will be all rainbows and white shores. Your problems will not go away. They may be switched out for infinitely more complex new ones, but they will not magically disappear. We are not in heaven yet.
Be warned. Count the cost.
Are you coming to Christianity hoping only to get something out of it? Walk away now before you are disappointed. Do not end up needing to surrender to the enemy because your troops are just not up to snuff or unwilling and unready to fight.
Make no mistake, this is a war. We know who wins, but the sacrifices along the way are still very real. Is a relationship with Christ worth losing your popularity, your position, and your comfort? Is it worth trading in your life of relative ease for a hard road of persecution? Is it worth sacrificing your earthly passions and pleasures for a life of tortured self-control? Is Christ worth following even if it means a life of loneliness?
Don’t go into a relationship with Jesus expecting ease.
Are you sure you can give up your comfort? After all, what is so valuable about following, not just the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law and the spirit who made the law? I would much rather be following the passions of my flesh. It would be easier.
What then is worth all this giving up?
Count the cost. Count it completely. But count both sides.
Jesus offers us so much more than a comfortable life. He offers us himself. He came and lived and died to pay the cost of the gift he offers us. We cannot fully grasp what it means, for we are only humans. But we can know, if nothing else, his promise that this will only be a momentary light affliction in view of the glory of eternity. For what is temporal comfort compared to a deep relationship with the creator of the whole world and my own soul? What is living in loneliness compared to seeing with my own eyes the one who loved me more than his own life? What is suffering the daily attacks of sin compared to daily growing closer to a fellowship with the satisfier of my soul?
Count the cost. Get a full and complete view of what you give up and throw it aside because what he gives is so, so much better.
Abigail Swanson is an MBA student at Chadron State College. She presented at the Sigma Tau Delta International Convention in 2022 and edited the 2021 edition of Tenth Street Miscellany. Her work appears in Epoch Press, Paddler Press, and Poetic Sun International Poetry Journal. She writes fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and occasionally scripts and drama. Abigail loves cheesecake and climbing trees.