“For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?”
Luke 14:28, LSB
What is the cost? This is a question we may ask in the retail sense or when we plan a project, but how often do we count the cost for our faith? Jesus was using something common to teach an eternal lesson. We all like to look to the benefits and treat our faith similar to any other consumable. In the modern, western world not many know the suffering that happens in the simple act of being a follower of Jesus Christ. Imprisonment, death, loss of family, etc., is not a factor. Yet, there is a cost of our faith that we all should consider. In Christ, we are called to set aside old patterns and things that are not honoring to Him. We often focus on the benefits – eternal life and salvation – but not the cost. We are called to let go of our old patterns and place our trust not in our old gods, but in the one, true God. This was the struggle of the Israelites and continues for those of us who have been cleaved into the promise. In Christ, let us count the cost and let go of other gods that are standing in the way of our full worship of Him. Let us walk in His peace.
Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.