Counting the Costs

My time during the next 3.5 years will be limited due to my doctoral studies. I thought I'd include my responses to the professor's weekly devotional questions. (Yes, it's wonderful to be going to a university with a biblical foundation.)

Week 3-Devotional Question

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it — lest, after he has laid the 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’?” Luke 14:28-30 (NKJV)

A doctoral dissertation is like a story, with a beginning, middle, and a conclusion. These elements are tied together, with each one leading logically into the next.  In the same way, a dissertation has a beginning, middle, and a conclusion that are tied together logically. How will you determine if the conclusions of your research are logically supported or not? Do conclusions that are not logically supported invalidate the entire study? Why or why not?

            As humans our ability to determine our future is limited. There will be times when we thought we had everything all planned out and we come up short. Is this a problem with our logic or is it an issue of our reality? The Bible tells us in James 1:5 (NIV) “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” God does not condemn us when we lack wisdom/logic, rather He expects that we will run into situations where the beginning, middle, and end should have come together seamlessly, but a pulled thread unraveled the whole design.

            Jeannine K. Brown in her commentary regarding the parables used by Jesus in Luke 14 noted, “Jesus uses these two stories to illustrate the necessity of "counting the cost" of discipleship. Jesus extols a commitment to finishing the discipleship journey once begun or not beginning it at all. Following Jesus is an all or nothing proposition.” The only story that I know will flow logically in my life is that in the beginning was God, currently He is with me, and since I called on Him to be my Savior and Lord, He will never leave me.

            My hope comes from the certainty of eternity in heaven with Him. Are there costs involved in this process? Absolutely. Will there be issues on the way of my dissertation that are completely out of my control? Yes, there already have been situations I could not have predicted that have taken much more time than expected.

            I will do my best to use research from valid and reliable sources, within the time constraints that occur. The research I include will, to the best of my knowledge, create a logical flow to my study. Could I do something to invalidate my research even in spite of my best intentions? Certainly. But I would pray that even in my mistakes and missteps, I can remember God’s Word, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Reference

Brown, J. (2010). Craft of Preaching. Commentary on Luke 14:25-33. Retrieved from https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=667