Counting the Cost <3
Yesterday I had an ambitious To Do list going. I do this every Monday and particularly when Monday is the only open day on the calendar where I will be home for the entire week.
As I looked at it, I felt overwhelmed and was certain I didn’t have enough time, so I assigned an estimate on how long each task should take based on previous experience and it all added up to seven hours.
The list included some housework, yard work, email work and a few personal goals for the day.
A glance at the clock let me know it was 7 AM. I knew even with adding in meals and some distractions, it was doable.
This set me up for success and at the end of the day I had accomplished everything and a few extras.
I was intentional with my time and I stayed focused.
As I was reading in The Message this morning, I found some notes written by Eugene Peterson following Luke 14. The last portion of this chapter is titled “Figure the Cost”.
Peterson starts out his thoughts regarding this with this charge:
To be a disciple, you have to think ahead.
Eugene Peterson, The Message Study Bible, pg. 1613
He continues with a reminder that good impulses, enthusiasm and good will are not enough to become disciples of Christ and, I would add, share the Good News that His Kingdom has come with others who desperately need to know…even if they don’t think they do.
He says that discipleship is assessing the future and what needs to be done to advance the Kingdom and then to be intentional and focused on exactly what our commitment is as individuals.
He reminds us that Jesus told us the cost is high. Do we take time to consider that seriously?
We have to ask ourselves…I have to ask myself…you have to ask yourself…am I willing to do what it takes to be a disciple?
Have I counted the cost and made the full commitment?
As our dear friend Big Jim would put it … Are you ALL IN????
Peterson’s closing thought sums it up for me and I hope for you:
Discipleship, you see, is not so much a matter of exhortation and bluster, of pep talks and cheerleading. It’s a matter of intelligent deliberation. It is sitting in on a long strategy conference with Jesus Christ and finding the resources I need to live obediently and act redemptively.
Eugene Peterson, The Message Study Bible, pg. 1613
Much to ponder today <3