The Cost of Following Jesus

We are building a house adjacent to our existing residence and although it is now weathered in, the exterior doors are not yet in place. A couple nights ago a neighbor alerted us that he’d seen a guy entering the new house with a backpack and he suspected the man planned on spending the night. In hindsight we should have called the police, but Bill and I took it upon ourselves to check it out. The squatter had already opened up his bedroll in the pantry and was talking on his cell phone to someone about “smoking weed.” Out of the dark Bill said, “Not in my house you don’t!” Quickly stuffing his bedroll in a duffel bag the man apologized as he scurried out of the house. As the man disappeared down the street, I couldn’t help but speculate on where he would sleep that night. There is a cost to choosing the life of a transient or vagabond. Similarly, following Jesus is a life choice and it too comes at a cost. Jesus said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Luke 9:58 NIV).