Counting The Cost
By Nicky McCall
History marks the accomplishments of outstanding individuals, who by the sheer force of their character and abilities, attracted multitudes of followers to their cause. Alexander the Great, the young military genius, commanded an army of about 50,000 trained soldiers. The selection was strict and only the most well-suited men were allowed to join his army. Plato, the renowned Greek philosopher, founded a school in Athens, known as the Academy, which became the place for intellectual discussions, exercise, and religious activity. Leonardo da Vinci’s prestigious artistic style was adopted by pupils, who were known as Leonardeschi, whose work bore his influence.
The idea of discipleship is not a concept limited to followers of Christ. The term derives from the Latin noun “discipulus” meaning pupil. At its core, discipleship is the condition of being a learner of the teachings and way of life of someone deemed to be a master, and it always comes at a cost. Gnostics, Nazarites, Stoics, Buddhists Monks, even Olympic athletes and Navy Seals adhere to immense demands on their time, body, and mind. Personal sacrifices are means to attain that ultimate personal goal.
What if your goal is not a worldly achievement but the redemption of your soul? What is the cost for that, and who is the master that you need to follow? A question as old as ages, answered by the sons of Korah in Psalm 49:6-8:
“Those who trust in their wealth and boast in the multitude of their riches, none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him-for the redemption of their souls is costly, and it shall cease forever”.
This passage is but an attempt to illustrate the futility of thinking we can somehow use our earthly wealth as leverage for our souls. What we discover is that the cost cannot be paid in riches. The salvation of the soul and deliverance from the grave is beyond the power of mortal man and his wealth.
Are we hopeless, then? The question was asked about 100 years later by the prophet Micah, in chapter 6 verses 6 and 7:
“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
The question is not left unanswered this time (v. 8):
“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”
It was more than words on the page that God provided. The answer became “tabernacle” and dwelt among us. Christ in the flesh was the earthly tent where God met man, where man’s soul could be in the presence of God fully redeemed, where the red scarlet became white as snow. Justice, mercy, love, and humility walking among people. No Stoa, no Academia could provide that kind of teaching. It had to be lived to be seen and understood and followed. And the disciples honored His name by calling themselves Christians. Two thousand years later, people of all nations still respond to His call, still follow His way of life, still hear His teachings. We are not among the ones that personally received the invitation to follow Him, but we have the testimony of those who did.
It was by the Sea of Galilee that He taught the multitudes about a new Kingdom that they could be part of. Those teachings and one miraculous catch of fish earned Jesus the worship worthy of a Lord, from the mouths of the astonished fisherman: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5:8). It was at this point that Simon Peter found His Master, and at His call to follow, he and his fellow fishermen “forsook all and followed Him” (5:11). Levi, the tax collector, later known as the author of the Gospel of Matthew, had a similar reaction: “He left all, rose up, and followed Him” (5:28). It didn’t take long for Nathaniel to find his Master and worship Him as such: “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel” (John 1:49).
One by one the Twelve were invited. They were the ones that did not have to go first and bury their fathers or bid farewell to their families or wonder where they would sleep and eat. There was no looking back, no regret, no concern about the affairs of their personal lives. They forsook all: families, properties, personal dreams. No price was too high for being in the presence of the Lord. After all, the Lord Himself put His disciples ahead of His own mother and brothers. He made Himself of no reputation by taking the form of a bond servant (Philippians 2:7), and now He was asking them to take the form of bond servants. All their natural motives, impulses, and desires should be overruled by their new status, of being disciples of the Lord. That is why the Lord could ask them to love their enemies, to do good to those who hate them, to bless those who curse them, to pray for those who spitefully use them, to offer the other cheek to him who strikes them, to give their tunic to him who takes away their cloak (Luke 8:27-30).
No doubt, those challenges would come when the Savior would not be with them anymore. So, as a good Master, He prepared them. He explained to them the cost and the provisions that had to be made, not to scare them into forsaking their allegiance, but to encourage them to honor it till the end. Isn’t this how Moses led that generation of Israelites into building the tabernacle? Based on the divine blueprint, Moses instructed the people to offer generously various materials to build the tabernacle and its furnishings. Only after the donations were sufficient, the building of the tabernacle was commenced. The same process was followed by David in the construction of the Temple. The preparations were made well before Solomon commanded the building of that monumental place of worship.
The same principle would have to be applied to a life with Christ. Steep sacrifices would be demanded of them, sometimes their own life, and they had to be prepared to meet those challenges. That’s what a loving Master does, that's what a loving Father does. We should each ask ourselves if we have considered the cost and are prepared and willing to pay that cost in order to be His disciple. Oh, to be worthy of such calling!