Everything in life has a cost and brings consequences. If you buy a car, additional costs are generated such as fuel purchase, washing, maintenance, etc. If you have a child, additional fixed expenses are also generated, such as diapers, clothing, food, etc. In short, the point is that in life everything has a cost and following Jesus is no the exception.
Many believe that serving Jesus is like going on vacation to a five-star hotel, or that Jesus is an Aladdin or Santa Claus who fulfills all wishes. Jesus is more than all of that and therefore, to follow Him is a higher cost than everything else.
In the whole history of the church, serving Jesus has always represented a high cost, and we have seen this since the death of Stephen in Acts 7 to this day, because, in countries like Nigeria, Egypt, China, Afghanistan, among others, it is still difficult to preach the gospel. And of course, if we read the book of the Martyrs written by John Fox, we will realize how much it costed the reformers to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And in the Bible there are many stories from which we can learn, from people who did not prefer to follow Jesus because of the high cost of their calling, a good example that we have is that of the rich young man (Matthew 10: 17-30) who preferred riches before following Christ. It is good that we as believers know this, that the Christian life is not an easy life.
The call of Jesus is the following:
And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14: 27
You realize? It is not an easy call, the cross is pain, vituperation, being betrayed, abandoned, flogged, dejected, that is the cross! And Jesus is saying that everyone who wants to come to Him needs to take that cross and that if we do not take it we can not call ourselves His disciples.
There are those who call themselves Christians or disciples, but they are not carrying the vituperation of the cross, and this is a problem, since that is what identifies us as true Christians.
Beloved brother, serving Jesus represents a great cost, and this involves even the rejection of society by our way of seeing the world. Take our cross, follow Jesus with all your heart, for a day will come when that high cost will become a great joy.
