Beloved, I am glad to share with you today a theme from Lk 14:28 and following. Indeed, all perfectly legitimate relationships, the love of one’s own life, must no longer be a priority. To cling to the person of Jesus implies to follow him to Jerusalem to share his destiny, to follow him to the cross. So, the two parables of the tower and the war speak of a time of reflection as a metaphor for the reflection and discernment necessary before declaring oneself a disciple of Jesus. It is about fortification, building a tower and armed forces. Becoming a disciple is a bit like enlisting in an army in times of war. Therefore, wisdom remains required: the disciple must weigh the conditions and discern whether it is possible for him to fulfill them. And Jesus’ demand here is radical. If you carry the cross, you cannot take on other luggage. But the gain is incomparable: it is Christ Himself (Phil 3:7-11). “And big crowds were going with him. And turning, he said to them: If someone comes to me, and does not hate his father, and his mother, and his wife, and his children, and his brothers, and his sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry his cross, and does not come after me, cannot be my disciple. »
It goes without saying that this teaching of the Lord does not affect the question of children’s duties towards their parents. A child who, for example, would have to disregard the opposition of his parents to follow the Lord, who in this sense would hate them, according to the expression of Jesus, will be the first to honor them, proving to them his love by his kindness, foresight, complacency, submission, dedication in the performance of his duties, all things that we do not always encounter today in the families where the principles of this century have penetrated. It is even to this that, according to the Word, we recognize that we are in the last days of Christendom where children take on the following characteristics, according to Paul’s words: “Disobeying their parents, ungrateful, without piety, without natural affection” (2 Tim 3. 1-5). How much one would like to see children, especially in Christian families, react against the spirit of the present day, showing obedience, fear, submission, respect due to their parents and to each one, instead of independence, disobedience, self-will, carelessness towards the difficulties experienced by their fathers and mothers, ingratitude, lack of respect and, above all, indifference to the things of God that we encounter all too often even in these families.
Let the children of Christians also remember this: their conduct is part of the witness that their parents must bear, because they are responsible to the Lord to lift them up in his fear and under his warnings. Therefore, from the children, the Lord requires only obedience. She has the promise of a special blessing, for the present and eternity. But back to our chapter. For once saved, it is to the Savior, who became his Lord because he has acquired every right over him, that the believer owes obedience in the first place. The Lord wanted to have not only souls saved in heaven, but disciples on earth, who walk in His footsteps and bear witness to Him by reproducing His life before the world. For this, one must carry one’s cross, that is, realize death with regard to all that is incompatible with the life of Christ. That is why it should not be followed lightly.
Jesus continues his teaching by saying that no one starts building a tower without first calculating whether he has enough to complete it; otherwise, if he starts and has to abandon it, those who see him will laugh at him. Similarly, a king does not enter the war without examining whether he can, with ten thousand men, resist the one who comes against him with twenty thousand. If he cannot, he inquires about the conditions of peace. These examples do not mean that, in order to follow Christ, one must consider one’s own strengths and calculate, according to them, whether one will be able to resist all the opposition one will encounter in order to be faithful to the Lord. It goes without saying that in making this calculation, no one would set out, for the enemy knows how to present difficulties in an overwhelming way, whether it is conversion or Christian walking. On the contrary, we must realize that we have no strength, no capacity to face the difficulties that will be encountered on the way, in order to involve the Lord whose power is fulfilled in infirmity, power always at the disposal of the one who, feeling his weakness, expects him, places himself so to speak behind him, knowing him capable of facing everything, with power, wisdom and love.
Thus, sin has corrupted everything in the world. In the life of Christ, which the believer must manifest purely and simply by following his Master, the characteristics of salt will be reproduced by an absolute separation from all evil; thus the whole life will be in witness. If this does not happen, if the Christian does not reproduce the life of Christ here on earth, he loses his character as a witness; it is useless: “Salt is good; but if the salt has also lost its flavor, what will it be seasoned with? It is not clean, neither for the earth nor for the manure; it is thrown out.” The unfaithful Christian, the one who does not walk in holiness, is of no use to the Lord; he is not good for him or for the world. A very solemn thought for anyone who professes Christianity. This is why Jesus adds: “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.” Every believer has ears; but what use does he make of it? Despised by the principals of the Jews whom God invited to participate in the great supper, the Lord would first seek the poor of the flock; but as there was still room in his house, he would then send for the gentiles, and introduce them by his powerful and effective call, when they would not seek him; – it was the activity of his grace. – The Jews, like Jews, would have no share in it. But it would cost those who would like to enter: we would have to abandon everything in this world and sever all ties with it.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Calculate the expense:
· Foresight
Pr 6:8 She prepares her food in the summer, She collects during the harvest something to eat. Pr 22:3 The prudent man sees evil and hides, but the simple ones advance and are punished. Pr 24:27 Take care of your affairs outside, put your field in condition, Then you will build your house. Lek 12:33 Sell what you have, and give it as alms. Make yourself purses that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where the thief does not approach, and where the ringworm does not destroy. Lk 14:28 For which of you, if he wants to build a tower, does not sit down first to calculate the expense and see if he has enough to finish it,
· The causes behind the Relapse
-The absence of spiritual leaders Ex 32:1, 8 The people, seeing that Moses was slow to come down from the mountain, gathered around Aaron, and said to him: Let us go! make us a god who walks before us, for this Moses, this man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what became of him. 8 They promptly departed from the way I had prescribed to them; they made themselves a cast iron calf, they prostrated themselves before him, they offered him sacrifices, and they said: Israel! behold your god, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
-Bad acquaintances 1 Kings 11:4 At the time of Solomon’s old age, his wives bowed his heart to other gods; and his heart was not entirely to Jehovah, his God, as had been the heart of David, his father.
-Success in the world 2 Ch 25:2, 14 He did what is right in the eyes of the Lord, but with a heart that was not entirely devoted. 14 When Amatsia was back after the defeat of the Edomites, he brought the gods of the sons of Seir, and established them for gods; he prostrated himself before them, and offered them perfumes.
-Superficiality Lk 8:13 Those who are on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but they have no root, they believe for a time, and they succumb at the moment of temptation.
-Vanity of life Lk 11:24-26 When the unclean spirit has come out of a man, he goes to arid places, to seek rest. Finding none, he said: I will return to my house from which I came out; 25 and, when he arrives, he finds it swept away and adorned. 26 Then he leaves, and he takes seven other spirits more wicked than himself; they enter the house, settle there, and the last condition of this man is worse than the first.
Lack of spiritual vision Jn 6:63-64, 66 It is the spirit that vivifies; the flesh serves no purpose. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who were those who did not believe, and who was the one who would deliver him. 66 From that moment on, several of his disciples withdrew, and they no longer went with him.
-Love of the world 2 Tim 4:10 for Demas abandoned me, out of love for the present century, and he left for Thessaloniki; Crescens went to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
· Characteristics of Spiritual Conflict
-An inner battle Rom 7:23 but I see in my members another law, which fights against the law of my understanding, and which makes me captive to the law of sin, which is in my members.
-Spiritual weapons 2 Cor 10:4 For the weapons with which we fight are not carnal; but they are powerful, by the virtue of God, to overthrow fortresses.
-Invisible enemies Eph 6:12 For we do not have to fight against flesh and blood, but against domination, against the authorities, against the princes of this world of darkness, against the evil spirits in the heavenly places.
-Young soldiers engaged 1 Tim 1:18 The command I address to you, Timothy, my child, according to the prophecies made previously about you, is that, according to them, you are fighting the good fight,
-A Battle of Faith 1 Tim 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, grasp the eternal life to which you have been called, and for which you have made a beautiful confession in the presence of many witnesses.
-The requirement of total consecration 2 Tim 2:4 There is no soldier who bothers with the affairs of life, if he wants to please the one who enlisted him;
· General characteristics of Prudence
-Reserve Pr 12:23 The prudent man hides his science, but the heart of the foolish proclaims madness.
-Attention Pr 14.15 The simple man believes everything that is said, But the prudent man is attentive to his steps.
-Docility Pr 15:5 The fool disdains the instruction of his father, but he who has regard for the reprimand acts with caution. Pr 18:15 An intelligent heart acquires science, and the ear of the wise seeks science.
-Forecast Pr 22.3 The prudent man sees evil and hides, But the simple advance and are punished.
-Spiritual Vision Hos 14: 10 Where is your king? May he deliver you in all your cities! Where are your judges, about whom you said: Give me a king and princes?
Silence Am 5:13 That is why, in times like these, the wise man is silent; Because these times are bad.
From all the above, we note that the closer one thing would be to the heart, the more dangerous it would be and the more it had to be hated; not that affections were bad, but Christ being rejected from the world, everything that bound to the earth had to be sacrificed for him at all costs. For it was necessary to follow Him, to know how to hate one’s own life and lose it, rather than to relax or to take into account something by walking in the footsteps of Jesus; to follow Him, one had to sacrifice all that was related to natural life, for it was salvation, the Savior and eternal life. So loading his cross and following Jesus was the only way to be his disciple; and without the conviction that this was so, one should not begin to build. It was necessary to see whether, being aware that outwardly the enemy is much stronger than us, we would dare, as a bias and whatever it may be, to go to meet him by faith in Christ; and it was also necessary to break with all that was due to the flesh as such. Moreover, everyone was called to bear a special witness and at the same time to bear the character of God himself, as he had been rejected in Christ, a character of which the cross was the true measure. If the disciples did not realize these things, they were worthless, since God left them here on earth only for the purpose of this. But has the Church preserved this character? Solemn question for all of us. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow ” the parable of the real vine.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.