THE UNFINISHED TOWER
Do you suppose Jesus Christ ever told it like it is? Do you think He was ever deadly serious? Or, do you think much of what He said could be taken with a grain of salt or was meant only for those who were actually present when He spoke and His words were meant only for them and no others? Or maybe His words were meant only for those who wished to become preachers and no others.
Luke tells of a time during Jesus’ earthly ministry when He discovered there were great multitudes following Him. He then does something rather perplexing. “He turned, and said unto them, ‘If any man comes to me, and hates not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, and, yes, his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple'” (See Luke 14:25-27). I’ll bet that startling statement sure thinned the ranks. No doubt a dust cloud probably immediately arose from all the people beating a hasty retreat down the road and in the opposite direction from which Jesus was traveling. And what’s this about hating everybody else? Didn’t Jesus say we are to love our neighbor as our self? Did you notice that the only folks Jesus said we are to hate are close family members: father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters? Neighbors and strangers aren’t mentioned at all! Neither are cousins, aunts or uncles. Rather curious, wouldn’t you say? How can we keep the commandment to honor our father and mother and hate them at the same time? Are these words of Christ some of the words we can take with a grain of salt or just plain ignore?
Jesus Christ is not giving a command to hate our closest relatives. He is merely drawing a comparison, informing us that our love for God must totally eclipse our love for any human being, including, and especially, our closest relatives. Jesus is to come first, absolutely and always first in our lives. We are to love God with a love that is even greater than the love we have for our own life! And we are to put self to death; that’s what He meant by our bearing our cross. A cross had only one purpose. It was used to end a person’s life!
But we must not overlook the next words out of Jesus’ mouth. He then says, “Which of you, intending to build a tower, sits not down first, and COUNTS THE COST, whether he has sufficient (commitment) to finish it? Lest haply, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.'” (See Luke 14:28-30). Those preachers who tell their organist to play “Just As I Am” while they cajole, wheedle and plead with the crowd “Won’t you give your hearts to Jesus? All you gotta do is believe.” Well, they better tell their listeners the type of belief they are talking about, that it is a belief so profound that they are committing their lives to obeying God in all things at all times. And when they have the audience sing “I Surrender ALL” they better mean every word that they utter with that tune. No wonder there are dozens and dozens of differing and bickering denominations in the Christian world. Christian churches overflow with false converts. Men and women, boys and girls, who are told all that is necessary is that they accept Jesus finished work on Calvary. Presto-chango they are now and forever children of God and on their way to glory. Hallelujah! Live life as they please for the most part. Don’t mess things up by any type of obedience or striving for godliness. Something to think about, believer!
Christ’s Aged Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley