25-27 Large crowds were travelling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: ‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters  – yes, even their own life – such a person cannot be my disciple.  And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28-30 ‘Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, “This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.” 31-32 ‘Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 

33-35 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. ‘Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure heap; it is thrown out. ‘Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.’ Luke 14:25-35 New International Version

Whether it be clubs, political parties or even Churches, people are often eager to sign up new members! Jesus didn't do that. Luke tells us that Jesus was very popular and large crowds were following Him. But look at what He said to them in vs 25 - 27. We know Jesus taught that to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbours was important to God, so the 'hate' he speaks of here couldn't be a call to actually hate people. Jesus posed two opposite extremes to show how important the one is over the other. Our love for Christ must far exceed our love for those nearest and dearest to us, even far more than our love for our own life. If our love for God is not greater than all other loves we will falter and fall at the first signs of difficulty and at any persecutions which come our way. What were the two pictures Jesus used to illustrate what following Him would be like? (vs 28-30)

He used the pictures of a costly building project and a King facing a battle. Those surely suggest that following Christ is going to lead to personal cost and conflict. We may think we are ready to give everything for Christ, only to discover that the demands are getting too great along the way. We may think we are strong enough to withstand all that Satan throws at us, only to discover that he is stronger and more cruel than we thought, and our courage begins to fail. That's surely why Jesus spoke of being a disciple as 'carrying a cross'. We can't become followers of Jesus Christ unless we consider ourselves as having died to all that this world cherishes and clings to. That includes family, friends and fortunes. That's what the application of vs 33-35 implies.

It's as easy for me to write these words as it is for anyone to say ‘I will follow Christ and never let him down’. But we must be so careful of not deceiving ourselves. The essence of Jesus' words is that we must not boast of what we set out to do, or underestimate the trials we may be called to face. People ridiculed the man who couldn’t finish his tower, the hasty king had to surrender to his enemy, and salt that had no more flavour was mixed with the manure heap. Jesus warns would-be disciples to not start what they will not be able to finish. Does that mean that we should not even try to follow Him and not make a start at all?

No, Jesus wasn't saying 'don't follow Me at all', just that we must think carefully about what following Him fully involves, and only follow Him if we are willing to give up all for His sake. But in other places He also promises to be with all who follow Him in every situation they face. He gives strength to the weary and courage to the fainthearted. He is able to finish the work which His grace starts within us. We mustn't be brash or boastful; but we also mustn't fear to follow the Saviour and carry our cross.