Saw this sign this afternoon:
I was surprised. It immediately brought to mind Jesus’ story (Luke 14:25-33):
Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
Clearly, Jesus says we need to count the cost. We need to know the cost right up front and we need to be ready to pay it.
If you are going to love you need to know there will be a cost! The difficulty is that there is no way to really know what the cost will be. Jesus told us over and over, “Love one another as I have loved you.” Jesus knew the cost of love and he was ready to pay it. All the way to death on a cross.
I think that sign would more closely align to Jesus’ teaching if it said, “Love counts the cost and is willing to pay the price.”