Robert Louis Stevenson, the 19th Century Scottish author, wrote: ‘… to travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive’.  He expressed an idea which many people still assume is true, believing that life can only be a journey of exploration, because there is no certain end point.  However, Jesus spoke very differently.  He looked forwards confidently to the completion of the Kingdom of Heaven; He knew it well, because He came from it and would return there (John 8:14).

In this parable, Jesus addressed those who were risking their future on building a guard tower to overlook a vineyard (Matthew 21:33-34).  As with every agricultural investment there was a risk.  Did the farmer have enough liquid assets to complete the building?  If he did not, then not only would the tower be unfinished, but the vineyard would be unprotected.  He would lose everything, including his reputation as a wise agriculturalist.  Jesus was speaking to leaders, decision-makers and those who make major life choices.  But, as always, His principal audience was the trainee apostles.  They were to risk everything by following Jesus but were confident to do so (John 6:66-69).

The metaphor of tower-building applied to those who committed themselves to working with Jesus in the building of His Kingdom.  Effective discipleship must be intentional and thought-through, based on the confidence that Jesus had provided all that was necessary, and would complete what He had started.  The man who chooses to build a tower must be prepared for the cost of seeing the work through.  Failure to finish the tower would invite ridicule, showing that the builder did not know what he was taking on.  He might be an adventurer, but he should not be trusted as an engineer or builder.  By contrast, the apostles and those who followed them needed to be confident master-builders (1 Corinthians 3:10-15), workmen who would not be ashamed (2 Timothy 2:15).

All those who follow Jesus can be confident: the destination is completely known to Him, and He can be trusted to ensure that we will get there (John 14:6).  However, there is a personal cost.  The greatest price was paid by the blood of Christ, securing access into heaven (Revelation 1:5): but the cost of discipleship is ours, as we leave other ways to follow The Way (Luke 14:26-27).  And that is best considered at the outset.  However, as heaven is a certainty and Jesus is a totally trustworthy guide, His followers can gladly commit themselves to discipleship whatever the cost.  Those who are born again by the Spirit of God have a confident hope which sustains them until they reach their eternal inheritance (1 Peter 1:3-5).