Word@Work Luke238 - Luke 14:31-33
Published: Fri, 11/19/10
Word@Work from BeaconLight
REALISTIC DECISIONS
Luke 14:31-33 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." (NIV)
The people listening to Jesus would have remembered all the trouble that came when King Herod divorced his first wife, and got into a war with her father - a powerful Arabian king. Everybody knew he shouldn't have tried to fight his way out of the problem, and ought to have found some way to make peace. Herod desperately wanted supremacy, but a realistic assessment of the military options should have made him give up his personal ambitions for the good of his kingdom.
Jesus said that people who persisted on retaining their personal ambitions could never be His disciples. Those who could not see that Jesus was superior to them, in every way, would be unable to learn from Him or follow Him, because they would always be agitating to get their own way. So it is logical that the 'bottom line' of discipleship must be a willingness to give up everything in order to follow Jesus and be on His side. Failure to do so will inevitably bring points of conflict which are unwinnable against Jesus.
Except in areas of persecution, it can be all too easy to call yourself a Christian. But believers who have not committed themselves wholly, assume the right to hold on to their own priorities; at the same time as claiming to be disciples of Jesus. That results in a sort of spiritual schizophrenia or a dual objective in life which Jesus says is incompatible with following Him. This can be a particular problem in the world of business and personal finances: Jesus said, "No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." (Matthew 6:24).
Prayer: Gracious Lord. Thank You for this wake-up call to alert me to examine the consistency of my discipleship. I repent of trying to run my ambitions and Your purposes in competition, and failing to please You. I am sorry when money becomes my god and when I become so focussed on what I want to do that I resist whatever You want to say. Please help me to realise that You will always win and that being Your disciple is the greatest privilege in the world. May I start to reassess my life and my walk with You today, so that my life will glorify You and enable me to enjoy the blessings which follow obedience. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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The people listening to Jesus would have remembered all the trouble that came when King Herod divorced his first wife, and got into a war with her father - a powerful Arabian king. Everybody knew he shouldn't have tried to fight his way out of the problem, and ought to have found some way to make peace. Herod desperately wanted supremacy, but a realistic assessment of the military options should have made him give up his personal ambitions for the good of his kingdom.
Jesus said that people who persisted on retaining their personal ambitions could never be His disciples. Those who could not see that Jesus was superior to them, in every way, would be unable to learn from Him or follow Him, because they would always be agitating to get their own way. So it is logical that the 'bottom line' of discipleship must be a willingness to give up everything in order to follow Jesus and be on His side. Failure to do so will inevitably bring points of conflict which are unwinnable against Jesus.
Except in areas of persecution, it can be all too easy to call yourself a Christian. But believers who have not committed themselves wholly, assume the right to hold on to their own priorities; at the same time as claiming to be disciples of Jesus. That results in a sort of spiritual schizophrenia or a dual objective in life which Jesus says is incompatible with following Him. This can be a particular problem in the world of business and personal finances: Jesus said, "No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." (Matthew 6:24).
Prayer: Gracious Lord. Thank You for this wake-up call to alert me to examine the consistency of my discipleship. I repent of trying to run my ambitions and Your purposes in competition, and failing to please You. I am sorry when money becomes my god and when I become so focussed on what I want to do that I resist whatever You want to say. Please help me to realise that You will always win and that being Your disciple is the greatest privilege in the world. May I start to reassess my life and my walk with You today, so that my life will glorify You and enable me to enjoy the blessings which follow obedience. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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