[See the daily reading in Luke 14:25-34.]
For over 15 years I’ve driven by a tiny would-be cul-de-sac near my home. I say “would-be” because whoever started it never finished it. The land is cleared, the court is paved and fire hydrants are in place, but that’s about it. A now-faded sign still beckons interested parties to inquire. I wonder if anyone is there to answer the phone anymore, or if the number now dials a Generation Z cell, a teenager occasionally flummoxed by a curious call ... something about wanting to build in her subdivision. (“So I’m like, ‘What?’”)
It always comes down to money – having enough in the first place and then being “all in” with it. Jesus once rhetorically asked a crowd of followers, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him ...” (Luke 14:28-29).
Of course, Jesus’ point had nothing to do with converting corn fields into housing units, but committing ourselves entirely to Him. It is an exchange measured neither in dollars nor denarii, but our will for His will, our ways for His ways, our lives for His own. Moreover, there is no holding back, no investment diversification, no “spreading our bets”; rather life in Christ is all or nothing. Indeed, to the lukewarm church in Laodicea, Jesus said “you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other” (Revelation 3:15).
When a builder has sufficient funds and puts it all on the table, great things happen. Having dedicated everything he had and the subdivision now complete, his investment yields revenues and wealth far greater than that with which he started. Likewise, Jesus promised, “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39).
The life we “find” in Christ, however, is not the same as the one we relinquished for it, rather Jesus returns to us “life to the full” (John 10:10). He fills us with new life, His life. In Him, our love for those we hold dear grows even deeper, richer, purer than when we considered them more important to us than God. And only when we are no longer the center of our own universe do we realize how precious we are to the One who gave his life for us and became life in us. In short, we who have lost it all for Christ have gained immeasurably more in Him.
Being “all in” is a gutsy move, but God will see us through, for as Paul wrote, “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). We let go of everything to which we cling and receive, in return, abundant life and an eternal dwelling place, fully complete and eternally secure.
Lord Jesus, this day, I set aside my life for yours. Bless me to recognize your calling today, to trust in your faithfulness today and to do what you've prepared for me to do today. I go forward in your love and power, even as I rest in you. Amen.
For over 15 years I’ve driven by a tiny would-be cul-de-sac near my home. I say “would-be” because whoever started it never finished it. The land is cleared, the court is paved and fire hydrants are in place, but that’s about it. A now-faded sign still beckons interested parties to inquire. I wonder if anyone is there to answer the phone anymore, or if the number now dials a Generation Z cell, a teenager occasionally flummoxed by a curious call ... something about wanting to build in her subdivision. (“So I’m like, ‘What?’”)
It always comes down to money – having enough in the first place and then being “all in” with it. Jesus once rhetorically asked a crowd of followers, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him ...” (Luke 14:28-29).
Of course, Jesus’ point had nothing to do with converting corn fields into housing units, but committing ourselves entirely to Him. It is an exchange measured neither in dollars nor denarii, but our will for His will, our ways for His ways, our lives for His own. Moreover, there is no holding back, no investment diversification, no “spreading our bets”; rather life in Christ is all or nothing. Indeed, to the lukewarm church in Laodicea, Jesus said “you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other” (Revelation 3:15).
When a builder has sufficient funds and puts it all on the table, great things happen. Having dedicated everything he had and the subdivision now complete, his investment yields revenues and wealth far greater than that with which he started. Likewise, Jesus promised, “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39).
The life we “find” in Christ, however, is not the same as the one we relinquished for it, rather Jesus returns to us “life to the full” (John 10:10). He fills us with new life, His life. In Him, our love for those we hold dear grows even deeper, richer, purer than when we considered them more important to us than God. And only when we are no longer the center of our own universe do we realize how precious we are to the One who gave his life for us and became life in us. In short, we who have lost it all for Christ have gained immeasurably more in Him.
Being “all in” is a gutsy move, but God will see us through, for as Paul wrote, “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). We let go of everything to which we cling and receive, in return, abundant life and an eternal dwelling place, fully complete and eternally secure.
Lord Jesus, this day, I set aside my life for yours. Bless me to recognize your calling today, to trust in your faithfulness today and to do what you've prepared for me to do today. I go forward in your love and power, even as I rest in you. Amen.
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