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We Americans, laden with more possessions and more power than any Judean king or Roman emperor ever imagined, pour our energies and our hopes into building projects. We confidently send our armies abroad with preemptive proclamations of victory. Do American Christians dare assume that we have not been infected with the hubris of our nation? Our only hope is discipleship, the practice of ruthlessly liberating ourselves from anything that might prop up our project of self-justification.

But if Jesus' stories are true, our story may come to a surprising and hopeful end. Perhaps we, too, will one day find ourselves at the end of our resources. We will begin to be in want. We will find ourselves in exile, in a far country, famished fools. Then we will come to ourselves, amid the ruined towers and garrisons, and begin to make our way home. And perhaps then, while we are still far off, Another will run to us offering terms of peace.

Perhaps, in these terrifying and wonderful stories, he already has.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Luke 14 is available from Biblegateway.com.

Earlier Andy Crouch columns for Christianity Today include:

It's Not About Power | A unique and proven strategy for changing society. (Dec. 12, 2005)

Of Wardrobes and Potters | A story about faith and fairy tales. (Sept. 20, 2005)

Environmental Wager | Why evangelicals are—but shouldn't be—cool toward global warming. (Aug. 8, 2005)

Visualcy | Literacy is not the only necessity in a visual culture. (May 31, 2005)

Compliant but Confused | Unpacking some myths about today's teens. (April 12, 2005)

Stonewashed Worship | Churches are striving to appear 'authentic'—like the rest of consumer culture. (Jan. 28, 2005)

When Backward Is Forward | Christmas may be the best argument against genetic enhancement. (Dec. 23, 2004)

Salt-and-Pepper Politics | Choosing between candidates whose consciences are too clean. (Oct. 04, 2004)

'Live More Musically' | The difference between Christian practice and a Starbucks purchase. (July 29, 2004)

The Cruel Edges of the World | There are some places that bring the distant biblical text closer to our lives. (June 07, 2004)

Pilgrims to Nowhere | Freedom isn't much good if you don't have a sense of direction. (March 30, 2004)

Glittering Images | A profound Christian rethinking of power is overdue (Feb. 17, 2004)

Before the Deluge | All of us have a sexual orientation that bends toward the self. (Dec. 03, 2003)

Two Weddings and a Baptism | It's still impossible to predict what will advance the gospel in Hollywood. (Oct. 15, 2003)

Wrinkles in Time | Botox injections as a spiritual discipline. (Aug. 11, 2003)

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February 2006, Vol. 50, No. 2