Luke 14:25-33<\/a><\/p>\nCompare Matthew 10:37-38<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
This passage exhorts us to an interesting mix of prudence and absolute commitment. \u00a0I suppose that what makes such a mix possible is the idea that the decision to follow Christ should be a thoughtful, reflective, and serious one.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s reminiscent of the advice sometimes given to those considering marriage: \u00a0Keep your eyes wide open before the wedding, and half shut afterwards.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you make a covenant, keep it. \u00a0If you make a commitment, fulfill it. \u00a0If you undertake to be a disciple, really be one.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
In Luke 9:62, Jesus is quite tough on the issue of discipleship and decision: \u00a0\u201cNo man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Or, as James 1:8 puts it, \u201cA double minded man is unstable in all his ways.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 Luke 14:1-6 \u00a0 The question that Jesus poses to the Pharisees isn\u2019t, strictly speaking, a trick one. \u00a0 But they decline to answer it because they realize that any answer they\u2019re likely to give will be problematic. \u00a0 If they say that it\u2019s illegal to heal or save people on the Sabbath, that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[701,1809,2625,3007,3499],"class_list":["post-72940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-apostasy","tag-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints","tag-new-testament","tag-new-testament-commentary","tag-sabbath"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>