(From Luke 14)
He warned us at the first: following Him would cost us everything. To the crowds who followed Him, waiting to be fed, clamoring for more miracles, He said, it’s not that easy. You don’t yet know what you are doing. Do you really think you can take up your cross? Have you counted the cost?
Yes, they said, yes, yes! We will follow You. Lead the way!
They followed Him as long as the walk was triumphal.
The cost is everything. And even those of us who think we can pay a price that high, we do not understand.
Some of us think we can throw everything behind us in one wild leap and be done. Some of us think we can give him mostly everything. But the cost is everything, and everything is everything, and that takes a long time to pay.
Many of us won’t, and many of us who think we will, can’t. It’s a high price, and how can we know it will be worth it? How can we bear this? Why would we ever agree to it?
Everything. Everything?
Why would He ever ask this of us?
Because everything is nothing without Him. Because following Him is not about being gratified. It’s about being satisfied. And He never asks us to give up something without giving Himself in return.
And even those who think we can do this, count the cost and give Him everything, we find we must do it over and over.
Surrender is not a one and done deal. We must count the cost, again and again, and hold out our everything in our trembling hands and let Him take it. We must keep holding out those hands, shaky and empty and afraid, and wait for Him to fill them.
And He does. Again and again. And the cost is worth it. In the end we see see it is not a cost at all. Our everything is nothing compared to knowing Him. Yes, it’s painful, bewildering, terrifying to let go of our desires. But following Him always leads to life in the end. Always.
This is why He went first, and we could never pay the cost without Him. He showed us that the way up to our true life is down into death, step by step. He was able to walk into the very mouth of hell because He knew the cost was worth it.
The cost seems high, but the reward is so much higher and better. The alternative will cost you so much more. Everything is nothing in the end. I challenge you to let go of your everything and find that He will give you everything back in Himself. And isn’t this thanksgiving, to look back along the path and see all He gave, when you thought you were the one giving?
View from the Valley 
Good post and very true. So very few have given Him their everything, It is an honor to do so and we do very much see that what we gained was far more valuable than what we have given up. Our family can say this from experience like few can.
Blessings to you.
Homer Les
Uncompromising Faith
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Thank you Homer for reading and responding. Blessings to you as well!
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Visiting as your FMF neighbor. I had trouble with his one. You didn’t. Great post!
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Thank you so much!
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He stood and said, “Come follow Me,
for truly, I’m the Way.
We’ll find death and victory,
no matter what they say.”
‘Victory’, yeah, that’s real cool,
with that He’s got my number,
but then again (I’m no fool!)
‘death’ sounds like a bummer.
If maybe I hang back a bit
I’ll bask in the warm glow,
and when the danger comes to it,
I’ll slip away, you know?
To me, sounds like a foolproof plan,
but it gets a thumbs-down from the Man.
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Awesome!
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My precious Julie and Ben, You two have been on my mental gratitude list.Before Ron’s passing it has been burning within me to offer gratitude to you both.Do you, Julie Smallwood Little and Master Ben Little have any idea of the impact your lives have had on others in big and small ways fueled by the power and light of the Holy Spirit? Julie, fashioning an appropriate response to your latest post about your toes is on my to do list. But, this e-mail is a simple thank you for small things. Ben, your humility when you returned from Nepal impacted me that night when you shared in the Sunday school class. The openness of the Nepalese people effected you. I never forgot. A question lingered in my mind that night, why do WE NOT DROP EVERYTHING AND RELISH GUESTS WITH OUR TIME AND OUR BEST AS THE NEPALESE? It must be gratifying and amusing for you to see that coffee bombs are not a new idea! The Nepalese have been preparing sustaining tea with sugar, salt and yak butter for centuries , ha! But, more than that night, Ben, your love for Hennri Nouwen’s writings piqued my interest. With more free time to revel in reading, I have fallen in love with Hennri’s life and writing. He has many deep thoughts to share and it is sobering to know that I have already out lived Hennri by three years, and what of note have I done? Julie, the memory of you sharing your poem about Mr Akers that day is burned in my heart with joy. How wonderful that your younger self was so creative, thoughtful and right on time!Now Mr Akers is gone from us, on the other side for almost 20 years. But, you, Julie, did the right thing at the right time! Julie, at this very moment Steve is listening to SURPRISED BY JOY due to YOUR influence. He picked up a free historical novel at the library and after reading some, says to me, “There is nothing wrong with me reading this historical novel, but will my mind become confused with the truth or fiction?” He has chosen to dabble in more classical reading, CS Lewis, bowing to your wisdom and Tozer recognizing his impact. All of this rattling is to relay gratitude to you and God for presumably small things. Yes, you have both had big impacts in amazings arenas, but in the small things you have been faithful, and I am in your debt and give God the glory! Thanksgiving musings and much love, Miss Becky Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
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