In Luke 14:28-32 Jesus speaks of counting the cost to be a disciple and while I am not actually going to be discussing that topic I think the advice He gives is pretty sound and useful for other areas because after all, He is Jesus and Jesus does not give bad advice. If you are wondering if we are allowed to take His advice out of its context I would say in this instance yes. Let me explain… If I were to tell you that proper air pressure in your car tires is good for getting the best possible gas mileage and for decreasing the risk of an accident would that advice also apply to a truck? What about a motorcycle? The answers are yes and yes. The advice is solid advice and can be applied to anything with tires actually. In the same way, the advice Jesus gives about counting the cost of being a disciple applies to other situations and we can feel comfortable saying this because Jesus actually used nonspiritual examples on why we count the cost.

So what cost am I counting? Why do I bring this up? Well as I may have said (I am not sure) my wife and I are in the process of becoming foster parents and let me tell you this is not for the faint of heart. There is quite a bit of money involved, a ton of paperwork, many probing questions, and a bunch of time. Then there is the fact that all along the way there have been things to discourage us. If it were not for the fact that we believe that God has called us to do this I would have stopped.

The hardest parts though are the spiritual parts. We have rarely felt like we were under such a spiritual attack as we are since starting this process. I mean everything from money being stolen out of our bank (we got it all back but grr), to the “new” car needing $650 worth of work, to crazy out of nowhere arguments, and of course full frontal “you’re not good enough” feelings. I am honestly tired. I am so tired that I can hardly express how tired I am. To top it off I have a math class I am taking right now and I do not have the patience to understand what 1√5 means or why I care.

What does this have to do with counting the cost? Well at the outset of this process we knew this was what God was calling us to, but we had no idea how hard it would be and we are not even done yet. What I do know (and did know) is that if God is calling us then we would pay any cost because it is always worth it. When God is calling you to something it is always worth the cost and there will always be a cost. You just need to settle that in your mind. Service to God will cost you something. David said in 2 Samuel 24:24 when he was offered free items “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” What it cost you depends on your relationship with God. Maybe it is money, maybe time, maybe pride, maybe risk, or maybe… Whatever it is the cost is the part you pay to be more like Christ because after all that is what the Father is doing. He is trying to mold you into the image of His Son. I like the way the King James reads 2 Cor 3:13 “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

If God is calling you to something then count the cost if you can. Knowing that it will cost you more than you expect but it also worth whatever the cost is.

Just a thought,

Mike