God's Glory Church

Everything in this world has its price. There is a price of peace and a price of freedom, there is a price of life, and a price of wasted time. There are expensive things, there are cheap things, there are things that can be bought in any store or supermarket, and there are things that cannot be bought for any amount of wealth. Many today pay a certain price so that there is finally peace in our country and at least something changes for the better, and for some this price is their own life. We don’t really like to think about all this, because then life becomes not as simple as you and I would like. It’s much easier to live one day at a time and not worry about anything. But is this what Christ expects of us?
“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, whether he has what it takes to complete it, lest, when he has laid the foundation and is not able to complete it, all who see it begin to laugh at him, saying, “This man began to build and was not able to finish?” Or what king, going to war against another king, does not sit down and consult first whether he is strong with ten thousand resist the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Otherwise, while he is still far away, he will send an embassy to him to ask for peace. So anyone of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:28-33)
Why does the Lord recognize as His disciples only those who are capable of self-sacrifice to follow Him? Why all this pragmatism and pettiness in calculations? Shouldn’t we just give up on everything and run after God headlong, without hesitation? Isn’t planning and a sober approach a lack of faith and trust in Christ? No and no again! We can see this in the example in which Jesus reveals for us the cost of following Him, talking about a man who, wanting to build a tower, calculates his funds to see if they will be enough for this work. The Lord is showing us that you and I must understand that paying a price is necessary and it is important not only to realize that the cost will be significant, but even more important to be willing to pay it when it is needed. After all, if we do not realize that following Christ will cost us something and the price will not be small, then we will find ourselves in a stupid position, like the man in this parable, having laid the foundation of a tower, he could no longer find funds to build it.
Christ shows another example in the person of the king, who, if he already decides to start a war with another king, then only after discussion and advice. And if he is not confident in his abilities, then, like a wise man, he will hasten to conclude an alliance with his stronger rival – the king. From these examples, Christ Himself draws a conclusion (v. 33): and when joining the ranks of His disciples, each of us must seriously consider whether he is capable of the self-sacrifice that the Lord demands from His followers. If we do not find sufficient strength in ourselves for this, then it is clear that then we can be disciples only in name, but not in reality. And Jesus talks about this in the following verses.

“Salt is a good thing; but if the salt loses its strength, how can it be corrected? It is no good for either soil or manure; they throw it away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”(Luke 14:34-35)
Just as salt is needed only as long as it retains its saltiness, so the disciple remains a disciple of Christ until he has lost the main property that characterizes a disciple of Christ – to be able to make self-sacrifice. What can be done to ignite the resolve for self-sacrifice in students if they lose it? There is nothing, just as there is nothing to return salt to its lost salinity. The student must be “salt,” that is, he must not only be good in himself and have nothing in common with evil, but also convey kindness to others. After all, this is the essence of salt. She, herself remaining undamaged and free from rotting, protects from rotting other things to which this property transfers. But if salt loses its natural strength, it is no longer useful for anything, not suitable for soil or manure. And this also has a special meaning: Jesus wants any Christian to be useful and strong to edify, not only those who have been given the gift of teaching, prophet or shepherd, but He demands that all believers be fruitful and useful to their neighbors. If we lose this ability and no longer bring benefit to the people around us, then “we are no good for the ground,” it is said, “or for manure.”
The Christian must become the conscience of his brothers and comrades, and the church must become the conscience of the nation. A Christian should be a person in whose presence one simply cannot tell dubious stories, use ambiguous words, or do anything dishonest. He must have a cleansing effect on his surroundings. The Church must fearlessly expose all vices and support all that is good. The Church should not remain silent either out of fear of people or in the name of achieving external gain.

This is the calling of a Christian. If he neglects his high purpose, then his life has no meaning. Uselessness brings unhappiness. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.