All In or Not
How committed are you to your projects?
For 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? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, `This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Or 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? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions." - Luke 14:28-33
Jesus gives two examples of projects that require full commitment, building a tower and waging a war. Without total commitment to either the task at hand would not be completed, and in one case, it could lead to death.
So what does it take to be all in with our faith?
Jesus says we need to be willing to give up everything to be a disciple. He starts out by telling the crowd they must hate their parents as well, so this is a level of commitment that no one is prepared to make. Why be so harsh?
I think Jesus wants us to evaluate our own level of commitment to God. How willing are we to devote our lives to Him? Chances are we are not willing to be all in. So how far will we go?
Will we offer help to anyone in need, even if it means changing our plans, giving up time and money we had earmarked for something else, something important to us?
Or are we only willing to give from our surplus, our extra time?
Jesus knows that it's a challenge for us to be all in. Everything competes for our time and support, so it is only if we have nothing on our plate that we can accept everything that God sends our way.
But how do we live that way?
I think the message here is to be aware of our focus. Where our hearts are, there our treasure is, to flip what Jesus has told us. So, if we seek to be disciples, we should be willing to put everything else on the back burner. And to the extent that we can do that, the greater our faith will be.
God is love. We are not there yet. But we can do better.
More to come...