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The Responsibility of DiscipleshipThe Greatest Man Who Ever Lived
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Being a disciple of Christ, therefore, is a matter that the crowds following him need to analyze very carefully. Jesus emphasizes this fact by means of an illustration. “For example,” he says, “who of you that wants to build a tower does not first sit down and calculate the expense, to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, he might lay its foundation but not be able to finish it, and all the onlookers might start to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man started to build but was not able to finish.’”
So Jesus is illustrating to the crowds who are following him that before becoming his disciples, they should be firmly decided that they can fulfill what is involved, even as a man who wants to build a tower makes sure before he begins that he has the resources to complete it.
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The Responsibility of DiscipleshipThe Greatest Man Who Ever Lived
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Jesus then emphasizes the point of his illustrations, saying: “Thus, you may be sure, none of you that does not say good-bye to all his belongings can be my disciple.” That is what the crowds following him, and, yes, everyone else who learns of Christ, must be willing to do. They must be ready to sacrifice everything that they have—all their belongings, including life itself—if they would be his disciples. Are you willing to do this?
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