Luke 14:25-30

The Cost of Discipleship?……going forward and forgetting the past. God must come first in our life. period. end of sentence.

The essence of discipleship is giving Christ first place. To “hate” one’s family and even one’s life is rhetorical. It refers to desiring something less than something else. This instruction was especially appropriate in Jesus’ day, since a decision for Jesus could mean rejection by family and persecution even to the point of death. Those who feared family disapproval or persecution would not come to Jesus. A disciple must be ready to face and accept such rejection. 

Following Christ is not something to be taken up on a trial basis. It calls for ultimate commitment.

Luke 9:62 

⁶² But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” 

 Luke 14:25-30

²⁵ Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, ²⁶ “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. ²⁷ And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. ²⁸ For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—²⁹ lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’