COUNT THE COST

Zach Vertz

At the age of 17 years old my faith became real to me and I got serious about it. I soon realized that whom I was hanging around with, my group of friends at the time, were dragging me down in my new relationship with Christ. I saw and felt the effect of my friendships between my Christian friends and my not-so Christian friends. I realized that if I wanted to grow in my relationship with Christ, I needed to change the group of friends I hung out with. I realized that although my friends were important to me, my love for Jesus needed to trump those friendships. I had to Count the Cost and give up some of those friendships. Yes, it was hard but I was serious about wanting to grow. God soon honored those choices in giving up those friends because God gave me real and better friends through Verve and my current college.

READ Proverbs 13:20 & 1 Corinthians 15:33

Whether you believe it or not your friends affect you tremendously. These verses talk about the impact your friends have upon on your life. If you hang out with the wrong people it will affect you negatively, likewise if you hang out with the right people it will affect you positively. Following Jesus will cost you some things but it is always for YOUR benefit. Who in your circle do you need to let go of? Count The Cost of following Jesus and let them go.