“You are being invited to be a part of the team going to Namibia this spring. Before tickets are purchased, I want to share some important things about the trip. My intent will not be to discourage, but I must be very honest about ‘counting the cost.'” I recently wrote these words to a group of high school students who signed up for a mission trip to Africa.<\/p>\n
Coaches give similar communication before a season. “If you’re going to be a part of this team you need to know the commitment required. You’ll have to practice three hours every day we don’t have games. You’ll have to do everything I demand as a coach. There will be times you won’t like me too much because I’m going to push you beyond the point you think you can go. I want you to be on this team, but you must count the cost.”<\/p>\n
It is not a ‘loveless’ Jesus who gives ‘hard’ words about following him. An ‘honest’ Jesus tells every potential disciple to count the cost. “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me… I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes, even his own life – he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross cannot follow me.”<\/p>\n
So why do people sign up for a grueling trip to the other side of the world? Many have heard stories from kids that have gone before. Most will decide the hardships are worth it. Some will say, “This is not about me… it is about serving others and being an instrument of God’s love.” Or why does an athlete decide to join the team? Most realize that anything worth doing is going to involve sacrifice. Many dream of a championship at the end of a season. Some love a coach so much they would do anything to be a part.<\/p>\n
The reasons for following Jesus go a little deeper. First, Jesus reminds us, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” He is King… and we’ve been bought with a price. But perhaps some of the thoughts above apply. Most of us are inspired by some who have gone before. A ‘cloud of witnesses’ testifies that any hardship or sacrifice is worth it. We all surely realize this life is not just about ‘me.’ The hope of a final victory is more than a dream for the believer… it is a promise from God. And we all should love our Savior so much we would do anything to be called his disciple. Let the Master’s words sink deep…<\/p>\n
“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.” Matt 16:25-27<\/p>\n
“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” Matt 19:29-30<\/p>\n
“You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything I have learned from my Father I have made known to you.” Jn 15:14-15<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“You are being invited to be a part of the team going to Namibia this spring. Before tickets are purchased, I want to share some important things about the trip. My intent will not be to discourage, but I must be very honest about ‘counting the cost.’” I recently wrote these words to a group […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-perseverence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=519"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1529,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519\/revisions\/1529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}