How much? When it comes to shopping, one of the things we want to know first is the cost. Now, the word 'cost' has two different meanings. First, cost refers to the price of a good, item, or service. The cost of an item will influence our decision to buy it. The cost of an item is determined through a mathematical formula (via Sortly): Labor + Parts + Tools + Marketing + Overhead = Price. This price is the cost. The cost of an item may vary, depending on the brand or the seller. To truly know whether or not an item is worthy buying, we must compare two different products of the same nature or two of the same product from different sellers. The price comparisons (if any) will let us know which product to buy. Typically, it is wiser to find the cheaper product. To determine which one is worth buying, it is important to consider the other meaning of cost. The second meaning of cost is determining risk. In looking at the two products, it would be important to evaluate the risks taken if you purchase one product and forgo the other. More broadly, the second meaning of cost is asking the question, Is it really worth it?

The second definition of cost is exactly what I will be focusing on in this post. In following Jesus, it is important to understand that a relationship with Him involves a risk to be taken. Simply put following Jesus involves a cost. Jesus made it clear during His ministry that, while all can come to Him, following Him comes at a cost. When it comes to following Him, Jesus says this to the multitudes:

"If anyone comes to me, and doesn’t disregard his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can’t be my disciple. Whoever doesn’t bear his own cross, and come after me, can’t be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? Or perhaps, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, everyone who sees begins to mock him, saying, ‘'his man began to build, and wasn’t able to finish'" (Luke 14:26-30, WEB).

During His call to discipleship, Jesus uses an apt analogy of a builder building a tower. In this analogy, Jesus gives the short story of a man who desires to build a tower but first counts the cost of his project. Counting the cost of this project will avoid the man's future humiliation due to possible shortage of funds, so it is important that he first calculates the cost before building. Similarly, Jesus encourages the multitudes to first "count the cost" of discipleship before choosing to follow Him. Though the man may be calculating numerical cost, Jesus encourages potential followers and disciples to count the risk cost. Rather than rushing headlong into a relationship with Him and then getting cold feet, Jesus wants anyone who desires to follow Him to understand what they are getting themselves into.

When it comes to following Jesus, our level of commitment is absolute. Meaning, when we follow Jesus, it demands all from us. Following Jesus is not just a momentary choice, but a lifetime journey of commitment. Each day that we wake up, we have the opportunity to continue in that commitment. However, following Jesus comes at a cost. The cost to follow Jesus is everything. Specifically, following Jesus costs us our attention, loyalty, and life for Him. In this post, I will discuss the three major areas of cost in following Jesus and the implications for each area using the acronym ALL (Attention, Loyalty, and Life).

A - Attention

The first area of cost in following Jesus is our attention. What is attention? Merriam-Webster defines attention as "the act or state of applying the mind to something" ("Attention"). In the context of relationships, attention has to do with the time, devotion, and care given to the other party. The same applies to non-relationship contexts, including work, talents, or personal hobbies. In short, attention is focus. In relationships, attention is important. The amount of attention given to the other part will determine how healthy that relationship is. Healthy attention given by one person secures the proper time, devotion, and care given to the other, especially when it comes to their needs. A relationship needs attention, or it will not survive. The same is true in having a relationship with Jesus. When we follow Jesus, it encompasses a living, active relationship with Him. Now, since Jesus is God, He has no need of His own. But, because He loves us (cf. John 3:16), God wants to be in relationship with us. God loves us and we are on His mind every day. David reflects on the love of God: "How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand—when I awake, I am still with you" (Psalm 139:17-18, NIV). God gives us attention, so in return, it only makes sense that we do the same.

In looking at Scripture, we can see that one of the major ways we can give attention to God is through praise. Praise is one of the most popular ways in Scripture that attention is given to God. The Bible is full of men and women offering their sincerest praises to God out of love for Him. The book of Psalms is an example of such, with 150 songs and poems of praise and worship to the Lord. Here are some of the praises David writes:

• "I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High" (Psalm 7:17).

• "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him" (Psalm 28:7).

• "Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name" (Psalm 30:4).

• "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen" (Psalm 41:13).

• "I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies" (Psalm 57:9-10).

• "I will sing of your love and justice; to you, Lord, I will sing praise" (Psalm 101:1).

• "Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom" (Psalm 145:3).

David used praises to God as a means to give attention to Him. David is said to be a man after God's own heart (cf. Acts 13:22). As as a result of God's goodness and provision toward him, David gives God the glory and attention He deserves. If we love God, then it is only natural that praises come forth. As Paul writes to the Ephesians, "sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (cf. Ephesians 5:19-20, NIV). Glory to God in the highest!

However, attention is a cost. This means that if we want to follow Jesus and we give Him our attention, we will have to neglect giving attention to other things in this world. Attention requires me to both put my focus on one thing and take my focus off another. If I am looking at a wall and want to look at the ceiling, I would need to first take my eyes off the wall and then look at the ceiling. If I want to serve God, I must first take my eyes off of what I am currently serving to serving Him. Jesus expounds on this concept: "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon [money]" (Matthew 6:24, WEB). Jesus is being logical. If someone serves one thing, they cannot serve the other faithfully -- it just cannot work. If I am a devoted fan of the SF Giants, for example, there is no way I can also be devoted fan of the LA Dodgers. Either I am a Giants fan, or I am a Dodgers fan, but I cannot be both. Similarly, it makes no sense, nor is it practical, to serve both God and Mammon (or any other god). Since attention includes praise, I either can praise God or praise another, but I cannot praise them both in sincerity. Therefore, attention is a cost. By following Jesus, we take our attention off of the worldly things and set them on the things of God. In this way, we store up heavenly treasures (cf. Matthew 6:19-21). Consequently, if we choose to focus on the matters of the world (money, politics, power, etc.), then we cannot focus on the matters of the Kingdom. Shifting our attention to Jesus does not mean to neglect important duties in life, such as family and serving in the church. Rather, this shift in attention means a reordering of priorities. Who are we putting first? When we follow Jesus, we are giving Him the attention and thus putting Him first. Putting Jesus first, however, comes at the cost of putting other things first.

L - Loyalty

The second cost of following Jesus is loyalty. Merriam-Webster defines loyalty as being loyal, which is the "unswerving in allegiance" ("Loyal"). Loyalty is being faithful to no matter what and expressing that faithfulness through action. Loyalty is both a choice and commitment. Someone does not have to be loyal; they choose to be. But, out of love, a person commits to the choice of being loyal. Loyalty first involves making the choice to be faithful and then actually committing to that faithfulness. For example, suppose I claimed loyalty to Chick-Fil-A. I have the option of choosing whether or not I want to eat there (choice), but if I want to remain loyal to the company, I will have to consistently go there for a meal (commitment). The action of loyalty supports a claim that we make, which is far more important than the claim itself. But loyalty also stands by the commitment, regardless of the other options available. In this fictional scenario, I could choose to go to Raising Canes, another restaurant that specializes in fried chicken. I could go to KFC, even. But because of my loyalty to Chick-Fil-A, I choose that restaurant over any of the fried-chicken restaurants in the area.

In a similar way, loyalty to Jesus is a cost. Loyalty to Jesus involves making a choice, committing to that choice, and standing by it in the midst of other options. To start, loyalty to God first involves love for Him. In Deuteronomy, God says to the people of Israel: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:5, NIV). All my heart, soul, and strength? That's everything! That is the point. When it comes to the matters of the Kingdom, God wants all of what we have to be devoted to Him. Again, Jesus says: "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon [money]" (Matthew 6:24, WEB). Being devoted to Christ involves being willing to wholly follow Him. Following Jesus completely first starts with a love and desire for Him. The second thing needed for true loyalty to Christ is a decision to follow. When Jesus called His disciples Simon, Peter, and Andrew, they left everything they had to follow Him. Matthew records: "They immediately left their nets and followed him" (Matthew 4:20, WEB). Luke records: "When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything, and followed him" (Luke 5:11, WEB). These three were fishermen, a job which caught a lot of fish and fed a lot of people. Being a fisherman was both a skill and an art, yet they left their loyalty to the trade to pursue a better opportunity -- following Jesus and being fishers of men. If these men could leave their career to follow Jesus, why can't we? When following Jesus, we are either all in or all out. In following Jesus, there are no 'halfsies' or 'straddling the fence' between Him and our old life. The claim of loyalty to Jesus has an action involved, and this action involves leaving it all behind for Him. The final thing needed for loyalty is to stand by the commitment. There will be other options that will try to distract us from commitment and loyalty to Christ. But we must run the race and win!

•  "Don’t you know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run like that, that you may win. Every man who strives in the games exercises self-control in all things. Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore run like that, not aimlessly. I fight like that, not beating the air, but I beat my body and bring it into submission, lest by any means, after I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected" (1 Corinthians 9:24-27, WEB).

• "Therefore let’s also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1-2, WEB).

Both Paul and the author of Hebrews use the analogy of a race to describe the Christian faith. Truly following Jesus is a race, in which we must lay aside every weight and sin that can easily tangle us, and run the race. Running the race will not be easy, especially when the world presents to us 'better' options than Christ. But as long as we stay loyal and focused on Christ, we will overcome. After all is said and done, we will receive a crown of glory. Loyalty to Jesus is a cost, but in the end, it will be worth it.

L - Life

The third cost of following Jesus is our life. How many of you are alive? If you are reading this sentence right now, then that would mean you are alive. As humans, we love being alive. The breath of life in our lungs is a beautiful gift that we get from God every second, whether we know it or not. While many of us take it for granted, life is the only thing that keeps us functioning. Without life, we could never work, play, or spend time with family. If we are honest, we love our lives so much that we would never risk giving them up for something or someone else. However, as we may also know, only true love can cause this exception. When we truly love someone, we are also willing to die for them. True love involves being willing to, at any given moment, to lay down your life in that person's place. For example, in the case of a fire, a husband and father may make sure his wife and kids to escape first. In this case, the husband/father loves his family so much that he risks his life to save them. In this case, he is determined to get his family to safety, even if it means him dying in the process. Only true love causes someone to act in boldness or selflessness so they can save the ones they love the most.

The same is true with following Jesus. If we truly love Jesus, we must be willing to love Him with everything, including our lives. If we love Jesus, we must be prepared to also die for Him. The road ahead is not going to be easy, and Jesus wanted to make sure His disciples knew this going in. This is why Jesus says to His disciples: 

"He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me. He who doesn’t take his cross and follow after me isn’t worthy of me. He who seeks his life will lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:37-39, WEB).

Jesus again expresses these sentiments to His disciples in another instance:

"If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life?" (Matthew 16:24-26, WEB).

It is clear that, for Jesus' disciples, part of the cost of following Him includes the surrender of their life to Him. To take up the cross and follow Jesus implies being associated and passionate with Jesus, even unto death. This certainly was evident in the lives of the twelve apostles, Jesus' closest followers. Each of the twelve apostles (except for John, who was exiled to the island of Patmos) were executed for their faith in Jesus. Peter was crucified upside-down. Andrew, his brother, was crucified on an X-shaped cross. John's own brother, James, was killed by King Herod (cf. Acts 12:1-2). Even Paul, a later apostle, was beheaded by Nero Caesar. Most of the twelve apostles literally denied themselves, took up their crosses, and followed Jesus unto death. For most, this begs the question: "Why?"

This 'why' question can be answered in two ways. First, the disciples wanted to reciprocate God's love to them. Salvation is not a cheap gift. Our salvation was bought with a price we could never pay. And it was out of love for us that Jesus paid the price for sin in full and then some for all mankind. It is as Isaiah prophesied centuries prior: "Therefore I will give him [Jesus] a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:12, NIV). Jesus loved us enough to pay for all our sins on the Cross, and it is through this love that He willed to lay down His life for us. "Greater love has no one than this," Jesus says to His disciples, "that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you" (John 15:13-14, WEB). Because Jesus gave all for them, they gave all to Him. And so should we. Second, the disciples recognized their true ownership. They did deny themselves in that they transferred ownership of their own lives over to Jesus. Once a person makes a decision to follow Jesus, they become God's child. They do not stay children of the world, but rather are adopted into a Heavenly family. Paul discusses such matters in his letter to the Romans: "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God; and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him" (Romans 8:16-17, WEB). Take a second look at part of verse 17 ("if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him"). Paul indicates that because we are children of God, we also must undergo the same sufferings as Christ went through. This may include dying a martyr's death. However, this will not be for naught. If we undergo the same suffering of Christ, we will also be glorified with Him. The beauty of martyrdom is the other side of the suffering. When all is said and done, those who have suffered will be crowned with glory. In Revelation 7, John notes a large crowd of saints:

"After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could count, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. They cried with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation be to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'" (vv. 9-10).

According to an elder, these saints "are those who came out of the great suffering" and  have "washed their robes, and made them white in the Lamb’s blood" (v. 14). These saints are those who have overcome the suffering through the Blood of the Lamb!

Now, to be clear, the laying down of your life for Jesus does not guarantee martyrdom. A godly person may live their whole life for Christ and not be martyred for their faith. However, that being said, living for Jesus includes being willing to lose your life for Christ. Following Jesus is not a suicide pact, nor was it ever meant to be. Rather, following Jesus is loving Him, even if it may cost your life. If a person chooses to follow Jesus, they give everything over to Him, including their own life. This is a cost that, though weighty, must also be counted.

Conclusion

The cost of following Jesus is, ultimately, everything. While only three points were covered in this post, the reality is that following Jesus costs us more than attention, loyalty, and life. However, these three points are sufficient enough to provide a starting point for us to count the cost. At some point, we must ask ourselves, Is following Jesus really worth it? In truth, following Jesus is a lifetime of cost and seldom feels worth the effort. But a small lifetime of suffering is nothing in comparison to eternity with Him. When we follow Jesus, it will cost us. But, on the other side, there is hope. On the other side, there is eternity. On the other side, there is Jesus.

"I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble; but cheer up! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33, WEB).