The cost

Haiku for disciples

Think priorities.

Discipleship must come first,

before family.

This is difficult.

Know what you’re getting into

when you answer ‘yes!’

The cross you carry

is an instrument of pain.

You will feel its weight.

Finish what you start.

Sit down, estimate the cost

before you begin.

I have looked ahead,

can see what’s waiting for me;

know who you follow.

Carefully reckon

the cost of discipleship:

follow anyway.

Don’t let anything

keep you from the kingdom path.

Be a disciple.

© Ken Rookes 2019

Two masters

Surely Jesus was wrong
with his misconceived diatribes
against wealth and possessions.
He was making some heavy-handed points,
and we all understand
that in the heat of vigorous debate,
one is prone to exaggeration and hyperbole.
It’s not that possessions are wrong, per se;
it’s more that in the wrong hands,
(the self-centred and unenlightened),
the preoccupation with money and wealth
can be something of a distraction.
It doesn’t really apply to us;
we know how to deal with it.
I’m sure that if Jesus was here today
he would recognise the sheer necessity
of wise investments, a solid superannuation plan,
and a dwelling that adequately reflects
the needs of modern living. You and I
would never let such matters determine our priorities,
or intrude into our spiritual lives, would we?
No, I’m sure that Jesus wasn’t referring to us,
and that he was simply, at times,
guilty of a little overstatement.
A lot of times, actually.

© Ken Rookes