26 “If anyone
comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children
and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
27 “Whoever does
not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 “For which one
of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate
the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? — Luke 14:26–28 (NASB95)
Asian
Access (or A2), a Christian missions agency in South Asia, listed a series of
questions that church planters must ask new believers who are considering
baptism. . .
* Are
you willing to leave home and lose the blessing of your father?
* Are
you willing to lose your job?
* Are
you willing to go to the village and those who persecute you, forgive them, and
share the love of Christ with them?
* Are
you willing to give an offering to the Lord?
* Are
you willing to be beaten rather than deny your faith?
* Are
you willing to go to prison?
* Are
you willing to die for Jesus?
– South Asian nation struggles to shape itself,
Mission Network News (1-17-12)
I
have baptized a lot of people over the last 40 years or so. I’ve used baptisteries, lakes, ponds,
bathtubs, cattle tanks, even the Gulf of Mexico. From each one, I really just wanted to hear
that simple confession, “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” It never crossed my mind to ask the questions
above, but I can sure understand the need.
In
some places in the world, you really need a way to filter out the unbelievers,
or provide a way for people to realistically consider what their baptism might
mean. Those questions highlight the cost
of following Jesus.
In
the U.S., we just don’t see the need. In
fact, we’d probably rather suggest to people that it’s not going to cost much,
if anything. To listen to some, becoming
a Christian is just a step toward raking in boat-loads of blessings of one kind
or another, including fancy cars and big bank accounts.
In scripture, and evidently some places in today’s
world, people actually pause to count the cost.
They know it’s going to cost something - maybe their lives. I don’t know about you, but this humbles
me. So, what do you think following
Jesus is worth?