25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even life itself—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
34 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.
“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
Read Luke 14:25-35 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
When reading this passage, I notice something interesting. Within Jesus’ examples of planning ahead, He includes the idea of a king receiving news that an army is headed his way with 20,000 soldiers. This king only has 10,000 soldiers and has to decide whether to fight or send a delegation asking for terms of peace.
In this example we see two contrasting ideas, and how we have the choice between these two options. We do not have the choice to avoid challenges, but we have the option of fighting – usually an uphill battle – with the chance of succeeding, or we can voluntarily submit to the challenge which leads us down the road of peace. In a battle, there are usually clear winners and clear losers, though one might argue that both sides lose in an adversarial situation such as this.
The problem with the battle option is that once one side has been declared the loser, they usually don’t experience peace, but instead bitterness, hostility, and/or anger as well as the desire for revenge.
However, voluntary submission, or at least being open to the idea, can lead to true peace, because through great communication we are often able to declare that both sides win. It is only when we are able to help the other side win in a way that we are also benefited that true peace can take place – and this is much harder to accomplish after one has chosen the “fight” option.
When challenges come your way, are you more likely to fight to win, or voluntarily submit to the challenge as a way forward to peace?
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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