The Cost of Following: When Jesus Becomes Everything
There's a question that haunts the corridors of modern faith: What does it really mean to follow Jesus?
We live in an age of convenience Christianity, where discipleship is sometimes reduced to attendance, worship becomes entertainment, and commitment gets measured in likes and shares. But the radical call of Christ demands something far more costly—and far more beautiful—than we often acknowledge.
The "I Will Follow, But..." Mentality
Most of us, if we're honest, approach our faith with conditions. We say "yes" to Jesus, but we hedge our bets. We want the blessings without the burden, the crown without the cross, heaven without the hard parts.
In Luke 9:57-62, we encounter three individuals who express interest in following Jesus, each with their own "but." One declares his commitment enthusiastically, only to hear Jesus respond with sobering honesty: "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Another wants to follow—but first, he needs to bury his father. A third agrees to come—but wants to say goodbye to his family first.
Jesus's responses seem harsh to our modern sensibilities. Can't someone bury their father? Isn't saying goodbye reasonable? But Jesus isn't being cruel; He's being clear. The kingdom of God isn't a hobby or a side project. It's the main thing. It's everything.
The Trap of Experience and Expectation
We often construct our relationship with Christ on shaky foundations: our experiences and our expectations.
Perhaps you grew up in a legalistic environment where faith was a checklist of dos and don'ts. Maybe your relationship with an earthly father colors how you view your Heavenly Father. Or possibly you've been hurt by the church, and now you approach God with suspicion rather than surrender.
Then there are our expectations. We come to God like spiritual consumers, asking, "What will You give me?" We treat prayer like a divine vending machine: insert faith, receive blessing. We quote Hebrews 11:6—"He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him"—as if God exists to fulfill our wish lists.
But what if God has already given us everything we need in Christ? What if the greatest reward isn't a better job, a bigger house, or even answered prayers the way we want them, but Jesus Himself?
The Call to Evaluation, Not Just Encouragement
Here's an uncomfortable truth: We often seek encouragement when we need evaluation.
We want to be affirmed in our sins rather than convicted of them. We minimize, rationalize, and excuse. "God understands," we say. "Jesus was tempted too." And while both statements are true, they're not permission slips to remain unchanged.
The Christian life isn't about being sinless—that's impossible on this side of eternity. But it is about sinning less. It's about a 180-degree turn that takes a lifetime to complete. We call it repentance: a change of mind, a change of direction, a reorientation of our entire lives around Christ.
Consider the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11. They subdued kingdoms, escaped the edge of the sword, quenched violent fires. But others were tortured, mocked, imprisoned, stoned, and sawn in two. They wandered in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute and afflicted. These weren't people seeking comfort; they were counting the cost and paying it willingly.
"I Have Decided to Follow Jesus"
The hymn "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" has a powerful backstory. It originated with an unnamed Indian convert who, along with his family, was brought before tribal leaders and commanded to renounce his faith. His response became the first line of the song: "I have decided to follow Jesus."
When they killed his wife to pressure him, he added the second verse: "Though none go with me, still I will follow."
Eventually, he too was martyred. His crime? Unwavering allegiance to Christ.
Now contrast that with today's church culture, where we change congregations over coffee temperature or music style. Where commitment lasts only as long as convenience. Where we want the benefits of belonging without the burden of believing.
Jesus: Way, Truth, Life, Example, Educator
What does wholehearted devotion look like practically?
Jesus is our everything. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). Not a way among many. Not a truth among truths. The way. The truth. The life.
Jesus is our example. He didn't come to do His own will but the will of the Father (John 14:10-11). The sinless Son of God died the death we deserved so we could have the life He earned. If He laid down everything, how can we hold anything back?
Jesus is our educator. Through the Holy Spirit, He teaches us all things and brings to remembrance everything He said (John 14:26). The answers we seek aren't found in polling our preferences or following our feelings. They're found in His Word, illuminated by His Spirit.
Strangers and Pilgrims
Hebrews 11:13 describes the faithful as those who "confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." They died without receiving the promises, but they saw them from afar and embraced them anyway.
This world isn't our home. We're just passing through. Yet how much of our energy goes toward building kingdoms that won't last? How much anxiety do we invest in things we can't take with us?
The Christian life involves service, sacrifice, self-denial, and sometimes suffering. Not suffering we seek out—there's plenty of it to go around—but suffering that comes from standing firm in faith when the world demands compromise.
One Team, One Fight, One Gospel
The body of Christ isn't Bobby's church or your church or my church. It's His church. And we have one mission: the gospel.
Not the gospel according to our preferences, but the gospel truth that Jesus Christ died for our sins, rose from the dead, and reigns forevermore. That's the message worth living for. That's the message worth dying for.
Being a Christian isn't about Sunday attendance or Wednesday night participation. It's about daily surrender. You get 1,440 minutes every day. Are you living them for Christ?
The 180-Degree Journey
None of us has completed the full turn from darkness to light, from self to Savior. We're all somewhere on that 180-degree journey. Some have just started. Others are further along. But none of us has arrived.
And that's okay. God doesn't demand perfection; He invites progression. He doesn't require that you have it all together; He asks that you bring Him all the pieces.
The question isn't whether you'll fail—you will. The question is whether Jesus is your everything anyway. Whether when you stumble, you get back up and keep following. Whether your allegiance to Him outlasts your affection for comfort.
Count the Cost, Then Pay It
Following Jesus costs everything. But consider what you're gaining: forgiveness, purpose, peace, hope, eternal life, and most importantly, God Himself.
So count the cost. Look honestly at what Jesus is asking. Then decide.
Will you follow with conditions, or will you follow with conviction?
Will you say "I will, but..." or simply "I will"?
No turning back. No turning back.
Resources:
Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 152–153.
Chad Roberts, “The True Story Behind the Hymn ‘I Have Decided to Follow Jesus,’” Christianity.com, April 4, 2025, https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christian-life/the-true-story-behind-the-hymn-i-have-decided-to-follow-jesus.html.
We live in an age of convenience Christianity, where discipleship is sometimes reduced to attendance, worship becomes entertainment, and commitment gets measured in likes and shares. But the radical call of Christ demands something far more costly—and far more beautiful—than we often acknowledge.
The "I Will Follow, But..." Mentality
Most of us, if we're honest, approach our faith with conditions. We say "yes" to Jesus, but we hedge our bets. We want the blessings without the burden, the crown without the cross, heaven without the hard parts.
In Luke 9:57-62, we encounter three individuals who express interest in following Jesus, each with their own "but." One declares his commitment enthusiastically, only to hear Jesus respond with sobering honesty: "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Another wants to follow—but first, he needs to bury his father. A third agrees to come—but wants to say goodbye to his family first.
Jesus's responses seem harsh to our modern sensibilities. Can't someone bury their father? Isn't saying goodbye reasonable? But Jesus isn't being cruel; He's being clear. The kingdom of God isn't a hobby or a side project. It's the main thing. It's everything.
The Trap of Experience and Expectation
We often construct our relationship with Christ on shaky foundations: our experiences and our expectations.
Perhaps you grew up in a legalistic environment where faith was a checklist of dos and don'ts. Maybe your relationship with an earthly father colors how you view your Heavenly Father. Or possibly you've been hurt by the church, and now you approach God with suspicion rather than surrender.
Then there are our expectations. We come to God like spiritual consumers, asking, "What will You give me?" We treat prayer like a divine vending machine: insert faith, receive blessing. We quote Hebrews 11:6—"He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him"—as if God exists to fulfill our wish lists.
But what if God has already given us everything we need in Christ? What if the greatest reward isn't a better job, a bigger house, or even answered prayers the way we want them, but Jesus Himself?
The Call to Evaluation, Not Just Encouragement
Here's an uncomfortable truth: We often seek encouragement when we need evaluation.
We want to be affirmed in our sins rather than convicted of them. We minimize, rationalize, and excuse. "God understands," we say. "Jesus was tempted too." And while both statements are true, they're not permission slips to remain unchanged.
The Christian life isn't about being sinless—that's impossible on this side of eternity. But it is about sinning less. It's about a 180-degree turn that takes a lifetime to complete. We call it repentance: a change of mind, a change of direction, a reorientation of our entire lives around Christ.
Consider the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11. They subdued kingdoms, escaped the edge of the sword, quenched violent fires. But others were tortured, mocked, imprisoned, stoned, and sawn in two. They wandered in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute and afflicted. These weren't people seeking comfort; they were counting the cost and paying it willingly.
"I Have Decided to Follow Jesus"
The hymn "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" has a powerful backstory. It originated with an unnamed Indian convert who, along with his family, was brought before tribal leaders and commanded to renounce his faith. His response became the first line of the song: "I have decided to follow Jesus."
When they killed his wife to pressure him, he added the second verse: "Though none go with me, still I will follow."
Eventually, he too was martyred. His crime? Unwavering allegiance to Christ.
Now contrast that with today's church culture, where we change congregations over coffee temperature or music style. Where commitment lasts only as long as convenience. Where we want the benefits of belonging without the burden of believing.
Jesus: Way, Truth, Life, Example, Educator
What does wholehearted devotion look like practically?
Jesus is our everything. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). Not a way among many. Not a truth among truths. The way. The truth. The life.
Jesus is our example. He didn't come to do His own will but the will of the Father (John 14:10-11). The sinless Son of God died the death we deserved so we could have the life He earned. If He laid down everything, how can we hold anything back?
Jesus is our educator. Through the Holy Spirit, He teaches us all things and brings to remembrance everything He said (John 14:26). The answers we seek aren't found in polling our preferences or following our feelings. They're found in His Word, illuminated by His Spirit.
Strangers and Pilgrims
Hebrews 11:13 describes the faithful as those who "confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." They died without receiving the promises, but they saw them from afar and embraced them anyway.
This world isn't our home. We're just passing through. Yet how much of our energy goes toward building kingdoms that won't last? How much anxiety do we invest in things we can't take with us?
The Christian life involves service, sacrifice, self-denial, and sometimes suffering. Not suffering we seek out—there's plenty of it to go around—but suffering that comes from standing firm in faith when the world demands compromise.
One Team, One Fight, One Gospel
The body of Christ isn't Bobby's church or your church or my church. It's His church. And we have one mission: the gospel.
Not the gospel according to our preferences, but the gospel truth that Jesus Christ died for our sins, rose from the dead, and reigns forevermore. That's the message worth living for. That's the message worth dying for.
Being a Christian isn't about Sunday attendance or Wednesday night participation. It's about daily surrender. You get 1,440 minutes every day. Are you living them for Christ?
The 180-Degree Journey
None of us has completed the full turn from darkness to light, from self to Savior. We're all somewhere on that 180-degree journey. Some have just started. Others are further along. But none of us has arrived.
And that's okay. God doesn't demand perfection; He invites progression. He doesn't require that you have it all together; He asks that you bring Him all the pieces.
The question isn't whether you'll fail—you will. The question is whether Jesus is your everything anyway. Whether when you stumble, you get back up and keep following. Whether your allegiance to Him outlasts your affection for comfort.
Count the Cost, Then Pay It
Following Jesus costs everything. But consider what you're gaining: forgiveness, purpose, peace, hope, eternal life, and most importantly, God Himself.
So count the cost. Look honestly at what Jesus is asking. Then decide.
Will you follow with conditions, or will you follow with conviction?
Will you say "I will, but..." or simply "I will"?
No turning back. No turning back.
Resources:
Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 152–153.
Chad Roberts, “The True Story Behind the Hymn ‘I Have Decided to Follow Jesus,’” Christianity.com, April 4, 2025, https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christian-life/the-true-story-behind-the-hymn-i-have-decided-to-follow-jesus.html.
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