"Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?" (Luke 14:27-28)
One of the problems with much of American Christianity is that it costs us little or nothing. It reflects our consumeristic culture. Churches exist to please their customers. If a person's needs are not met, they shop for another church. If another church has more programs or a more pleasing worship style, people will leave one church and go to it because it seems to offer more. Many churches have embraced this and offer an "attractional" model of Christianity.
Even churches that resist some of the consumeristic elements of our culture may still require little from their members. We are afraid of asking too much. We want to make people comfortable. We don't want to burden them with tasks that are demanding. What is fascinating is that we respect other organizations in our culture who are demanding and ask much. Families will rearrange their lives to ensure their children are on the right sports team. They will not miss a practice because they understand the commitment. We gather in stadiums across the country every Friday night to celebrate this type of commitment and discipline. It is not just sports. We could say the same for band and other activities that matter to us. We count the cost, and we give it our all.
Christianity is a sacrifice. We follow a crucified Savior. It is demanding. It requires commitment. Jesus was upfront about this, even if we sometimes minimize or neglect these parts of Scripture. Christianity should not be third or fourth on a list of important things we do during the week. It is not a box we check and then move on to something else. It is everything. It is who we are. It is who we belong to. It is what we do and where we are going. We are to seek first the kingdom of God. Churches shouldn't be afraid to tell people to count the cost or to talk about commitment. Jesus did, and he changed the world. If we fail to do this, we may not change anything.
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