Ever have this happen?
You are with a group of people, perhaps several who do not know you personally. Then the subject of motorcycles comes up, and you mention that you ride.
Somebody in the group gets all wide-eyed, and begins to tell you how dangerous it is. Often this warning comes along with a story of their brother's friend's cousin who wrecked.
I sometimes have to resist the urge to say, "What? There are dangers? No one told me that before. I will never ride again!"
The simple truth of the matter is this; riding a motorcycle is dangerous. You can be the best rider out there, do everything right, and still go down due to someone else's stupidity. It happens all the time, the risk is real.
But so is the joy of riding.
We who ride have accepted that risk. We have counted the cost and considered it worth it for the joy of riding. Others may see that choice as crazy, but they don't know it like we do.
Reading Luke 14 today.
"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
"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? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish.' Luke 14:25-30 (NIV)
Salvation is free, we cannot earn it. But being a disciple of Jesus Christ does cost us. Our love for others must pale in comparison with our love for him. Taking up our own cross can be painful, making a stand for him when everyone else is against him is not easy.
But those of us who have chosen to follow Christ feel it is worth it.
We have accepted that risk. We have counted the cost and considered it worth it for the joy knowing Jesus Christ, and being known as his disciples. Others may see that choice as crazy, but they don't know him like we do.
As Paul said, "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead." Phil 3:7-11 (NIV)
Have you counted the cost?
