"For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish."
Luke 14:28-30
This is an interesting analogy that Christ used to explain what is required when we commit to the gospel. Before this he says that we have to value the gospel before family, before our own lives, and that we have to be willing to suffer sometimes (Luke 14:26-27). After this, he explains that we have to be willing to give up everything (Luke 14:33). The analogy here, and the one that comes after it about a kind needing to know how to follow through on plans of war, explains why this level of commitment is needed. It isn't because God is trying to scare us, or that the gospel is about torture, or that getting baptized into the church is being like thrown in a dungeon. It's because commitment to God is serious. We can't be fair-weather friends to God, and expect that to matter. It's the lack of commitment that erodes our faith... but if we are all in with God, then we have the faith and confidence to spiritually succeed, and to make a difference in others' lives as well.
God compares the church to a bride and himself to a bridegroom in many places in the scriptures (Matthew 25, John 3, Revelation 19, D&C 33, etc.), and I think that, to me, that is the kind of commitment that God requires. Hopefully, when we are planning to get married, we don't make that decision lightly. We agree that we are going to stick with it, no matter what... good, bad, etc. ... Of course, with the divorce rate unfortunately being what it is, perhaps that is why Christ used the example of a building instead. :) We can't build a skyscraper if we only have enough money to build the first floor. We have to know how to finish, and be committed all the way. :)
Today, let's renew our commitment to the gospel, remembering that we have to be all in, not ready to bail whenever anything goes wrong. If we stick with God, everything will work out. If we keep running away and giving up when things are hard, hopefully the tower mockers won't come to laugh at us, but still... we are unlikely to get very far.
Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish."
Luke 14:28-30
This is an interesting analogy that Christ used to explain what is required when we commit to the gospel. Before this he says that we have to value the gospel before family, before our own lives, and that we have to be willing to suffer sometimes (Luke 14:26-27). After this, he explains that we have to be willing to give up everything (Luke 14:33). The analogy here, and the one that comes after it about a kind needing to know how to follow through on plans of war, explains why this level of commitment is needed. It isn't because God is trying to scare us, or that the gospel is about torture, or that getting baptized into the church is being like thrown in a dungeon. It's because commitment to God is serious. We can't be fair-weather friends to God, and expect that to matter. It's the lack of commitment that erodes our faith... but if we are all in with God, then we have the faith and confidence to spiritually succeed, and to make a difference in others' lives as well.
God compares the church to a bride and himself to a bridegroom in many places in the scriptures (Matthew 25, John 3, Revelation 19, D&C 33, etc.), and I think that, to me, that is the kind of commitment that God requires. Hopefully, when we are planning to get married, we don't make that decision lightly. We agree that we are going to stick with it, no matter what... good, bad, etc. ... Of course, with the divorce rate unfortunately being what it is, perhaps that is why Christ used the example of a building instead. :) We can't build a skyscraper if we only have enough money to build the first floor. We have to know how to finish, and be committed all the way. :)
Today, let's renew our commitment to the gospel, remembering that we have to be all in, not ready to bail whenever anything goes wrong. If we stick with God, everything will work out. If we keep running away and giving up when things are hard, hopefully the tower mockers won't come to laugh at us, but still... we are unlikely to get very far.
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