and said quietly, "_I have sold all_." He appeared
deeply grief-stricken, and yet there was a light shining in his eye. In
answer to questions he said, "I have not only ceased to be a Brahmin, I
have ceased to be a human being. I am not only an outcast, I am dead. I
have neither father, mother, brothers, nor sisters. I have been burned in
effigy, and the ashes buried. It was not the effigy they burned; it was I.
My father would not recognize me now if he met me on the street, nor would
my mother. I am dead. I have been buried. It is the end. I have sold
all."[46] He had counted the cost. Then though it meant so much, he
followed. The rich young Jew to whom the words were first spoken, saw
_things_ bigger than Jesus; the rich young Hindu saw Jesus bigger. Each
held to what he prized most, and let the other go. Would it not be better
if we were to count the cost, and then _deliberately_ decide? and if it be
to follow, then follow _all the way?_ I want to talk a little later about
what it means to follow. I hope this will help us a little in our
calculations, in counting the cost before starting in to follow fully.

And yet, and yet, may the vision of the Lone Man in the road, beckoning,
flood our eyes while we count the cost, even as with the young Hindu.

What Following Means

1. A Look Ahead.
2. The Main Road.
3. The Valleys.
4. The Hilltops.

1. A Look Ahead

Saltless Salt.

The Lord Jesus never tried to make things look easier than they are. He
wanted you to see the road just as it is, and asked you to look at it
carefully. He knew this was the only right way to do. He knew that so the
sinews would be grown in character that would stand the tests coming, and
only so.

It was never His plan to increase the numbers by cutting down the
doorsills so men could get in more easily. That was a later arrangement.
He was never concerned for numbers, but for right and truth. A man walking
alone down the middle of the one true path was more to Him, immensely
more, than a great crowd wabbling along on the edge, half out, half in,
neither in nor out, and so really out but not knowing it. If they were
really out and knew it, it would be better, for they could see more
distinctly the path they were not in, its straightness and attractiveness.

This sort of thing grew more marked with our Lord Jesus as the end drew
on, the tragic end. The crowds thickened about Him those last months. They
liked good bre