Luke 14: 25 - 33

In 1st Century culture, family was foremost above everything else; it was the very fibre that held society together. Jesus is saying that discipleship must be put above even that which is most important and most intrinsic to life in this world. That is why he goes on to tell the two stories about the need to count the cost before undertaking an important venture. He makes clear to his listeners that discipleship is more important than anything else and that there are huge costs associated with taking it on. A believer has to literally ‘count the cost’ of what it will mean to place discipleship above family, friendships, career, politics and even life itself. Jesus makes no apologies for the fact that what he is asking is incredibly demanding.

Our ‘possessions’ are all those things – material, emotional, and psychological – that we cling to and that we think give us our identity and status. In this gospel Jesus called for a radical reinterpretation of status and position. He tells his listeners that they cannot truly be disciples if they continue to cling to those things that are considered important in this world. They have to surrender the things that bind them to this world’s ideas of status and position before they can fully embrace the kingdom view of the world. As Jesus said, you have to really count the cost!