The Cost of Following Jesus

Sunday, March 15th, 2026

6 am

Good morning! Today I am in Matthew 8:18-22 and Luke 9:57-62. As Jesus and His disciples were heading to Jerusalem, a teacher of religious law said to Jesus, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go. (Matthew 8:19)". Jesus told Him that foxes and birds have places to sleep, but, "the Son of Man has no place to even lay His head. (Luke 9:58)" Jesus turned to another person and told the man to come follow Him, but the man told Jesus to let him first return home to bury his father. But Jesus told him to let the spiritually dead bury their own dead. Another man told Jesus he would follow Him, but he first needed to say good-bye to his family. But Jesus told him that anyone who puts their hand to the plow and then looks back, was not fit for the Kingdom of God.

These statements may seem a little harsh, especially if you have a family. But Jesus was talking about the importance of making God the priority in our lives. Nothing else. He is not telling us to forget our responsibilities, but we are to seek Him and His ways, before anything else in our lives. When we make Him a priority in our lives, everything else will fall into the right place.

God is the one that blesses us with all the good things we have, including our families and jobs. When we start putting Him first, He changes our hearts and minds, renewing our minds and softening our hearts every time we spend time in His Word. When He does, our attitudes toward others start changing. This does not mean it will be easy though, because we will have to make hard decisions. When He calls us to follow Him, we may have to turn away from some relationships or jobs that are not good for us, or part of God's will. But know, when you make those hard decisions, God will help you every step of the way. Where one door closes, another will open, but we must know God's Word to know what the right decision it is to make. If we don't know God's Word, we may not make the right choice. When you do step out when He calls, trust that He is with you every step of the way, and He will help you. Don't be afraid. The cost may be great, but God will be with you. Stay in His Word, praying, and worshiping Him everyday, and He will go with you wherever you go. He will give you the strength to get through.