College Football has been hit with the giant news that Oklahoma and Texas plan to leave the Big 12 conference after their media rights deal expires in 2025. At that point, both schools will most likely join the SEC.

This decision impacts other sports at both of these schools, while the whole landscape of college athletics will be affected, as well.

However, college football fans seem to be the ones most excited, concerned, confused, and hopeful. We recognize there are ripple effects that other schools and conferences will feel and this move will alter many aspects of the sport moving forward.

At the core of this move (assuming Oklahoma and Texas join the SEC) is money – specifically, TV money. With the conference adding two more large fan bases to a conference already loaded with a huge and passionate following, these two teams, along with other SEC members, are expected to make more money moving forward.

It makes sense that college football programs would want to be a member of the SEC. After all, it’s the premier conference with many of the top programs in the country.

But even though there are clear benefits to leaving their former conference to join a better one, the leadership at Texas and Oklahoma had to count the cost of making such a drastic change.

They had to determine if it was worth giving up their former conference relationships, previous in-conference rivalry games, the traditions of the Big 12, and the comfortable status as the top two football programs in the conference.

Leaving all that behind and jumping into the unknown is risky as it includes unforeseen outcomes, criticism from fans, and media members questioning many aspects of the move.

With that said, they counted the cost, considered any sacrifices, risks, or anything else they had to lose in order to gain entrance into the SEC superconference, and determined it was worth it. Ultimately, they saw the value and the benefits and decided to go for the opportunity.

The parallel for us today is found in the Bible when Jesus talks about counting the cost of being His disciple. He offers us grace, eternal life, and peace for our souls – all free gifts for us to receive.

We get to personally and intimately know the Creator of the world when we receive Christ as our Savior and decide to follow Him as our Lord.

But to become a true follower of Jesus, we must give up our own way, sacrifice our comfort, let go of our worldly desires, love Him more than anything, and leave behind our “former conference.”

We have to be willing to count the cost of being His disciple and then commit to joining Him.

Jesus explains in Luke 14:25-30;33 (NLT), “A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, ‘If you want to be My disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be My disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow Me, you cannot be my disciple.

“’But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, “There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!”‘”

Surrendering our lives to Jesus and following Him daily is the best decision we can make, but we must understand we may have to give up certain relationships, previous rivalries, old traditions, and our comfortable status.

When considering if we’re willing to take the risk of jumping into the unknown, we must ask if we’re willing to leave our former life behind and not worry about the criticism or questioning. We must embrace the sacrifices we’ll make when we join Jesus on a supernatural adventure from now through eternity.

Today, let’s recognize the value, benefits, and opportunity we have to go for it and be a member of God’s family (the best conference available!) and focus on what we’re gaining when we know Him as His disciple. Ultimately, it pales in comparison to anything we may be losing or leaving.

I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for the free gift of salvation. I desire to be a disciple of Jesus and pray I’d understand what it truly takes. Help me to willingly give up whatever is necessary to be all in and leave my former life behind. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

Discussion Questions for PACKS:

1. When you count the cost of following Jesus, what is the hardest thing for you to leave behind?

2. What aspects of being a true disciple of Jesus challenge you the most?