The Tower

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.

So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.”

(Luke 14:26-33)

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There is an abandoned construction piece, shall we call it a tower, at Khon Kaen, next to the Charoenthani Hotel. It was apparently supposed to be another grand and tall hotel building, construction started sometime in the 1990s.

Then the asian financial crisis struck, and the project was abandoned, and left derelict, an empty shell.

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I’ve seen projects like these in other places, such as Indonesia. Typically, they end up being abandoned, and eventually, years later, someone comes in, demolishes whatever’s left, and restarts from scratch.

Perhaps, maybe one’s Christian walk is like that. I used to be pretty, shall we say, ‘on fire’ about Christianity, and wanted to serve and do things in many areas. Then suddenly out of nowhere, a lot of disappointments and closed doors cropped up, leaving me tired, worn out, and apathetic.

But perhaps it’s this testing process, of demolishing whatever’s been put up without much thought, that prepares one to the disciple that God calls one to be. Zeal alone, emotional highs, cannot bring one far in spiritual growth. Rather, it is the deliberate, conscious commitment and conviction, and careful consideration of the cost, which leads one to spiritual maturity.

And Christianity, as always, is all about surrendering our plans , hopes, dreams to Jesus. And knowing that He makes things beautiful in its time…