Counting the Cost

And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:27-38 ESV). A farmer went to town to buy a new pickup truck. He had seen the advertisements in the local paper about the low costs and factory rebates. After picking out the vehicle he liked best, he proceeded to write a check. The salesman said, "Wait, I haven’t told you the final price yet." The farmer said, "You advertised your price in the paper." "Yes," replied the salesman, "but that was for a basic pickup, all the options cost extra." About six months later, the farmer got a phone call from that same salesman. It seems he needed to buy a cow for his son’s agriculture project. The farmer assured him he had several nice milk cows for sale for $500 each. The car dealer picked out the cow he wanted and proceeded to write a check. The farmer said, "Wait, I haven’t told you the final price yet." He then handed him this bill: Basic Cow: $500.00 Two-tone Exterior: 45.00 Extra Stomach: 75.00 Product Storing Equipment: 60.00 Straw Compartment: 120.00 Four Spigots @ $10.00 each: 40.00 Leather Upholstery: 125.00 Dual Horns: 45.00 Automatic Fly-swatter: 38.00 Fertilizer Attachment: 185.00 GRAND TOTAL $1,233.00 Funny how easy it is to be misled when we fail to “count the cost.” In today’s reading, which is above, Jesus reminds the disciples that there is a cost attached to following Him. That cost may be summed up in one word: selflessness. When we begin to think of others more than ourselves, we have captured the essence of Christ’s way!