James Duff July 6th 2014 ~ What's the cost?

For some people the end of June brings a sense of excitement, for others dread and for others it just slips past like any other time of the year. The end of the financial year sees businesses like Office Works emphasising their products as tax deductible, as an incentive to purchase from their store. Charities use the same selling technique, hoping people will give, knowing that they get their money back and it won’t cost them anything. I have been guilty in the past of trying to sell Christianity in a similar way, denying that it will cost people anything to follow Jesus. It can be easy to tell people that becoming a Christian is simple and promise that it won’t cost anything to do it. Praying the ‘sinners prayer’ is simple but, actually, living a true Christian life is not. The reasons why we can deny the difficulty of a genuine Christian life to others can be varied but here are three to ponder.

1. We don’t want people to be put off Christianity, so we deny the struggles that come with it.
2. We believe God loves us more if people come to faith, so we just want to get our numbers up.
3. Our own lives are no different from a non-Christian, resulting in a watered-down understanding of the gospel.

 I could muse on all three perspectives but will touch on the third for length’s sake.Jesus was clear on what it cost to follow him. His call was for people to pick up their cross and follow Him - to be prepared to lay down their lives and start living for Him and not themselves. His warning was that, if we don’t do this, we will never experience ultimate reality. But the promise is that, if we do lay down our lives, we will experience life to the full. According to Jesus, ultimate reality or full life means to be in a covenant relationship with God.God is jealous for us. He gave the ultimate sacrifice and calls us to imitate him. We are to give, knowing that the cost of that is not getting back in this life what the world thinks is best for us, such as money, fame and so-called security. What is promised, however, is that we will gain what is most important - a relationship with our Maker and Judge.We need to see that a relationship with God is worth every sacrifice to attain. Paul sums it up beautifully: “To live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). If we don’t strive to see life like this, I believe the result will be that our personal lives and the life of the church will be no different to the outside world and the message coming from our actions and words will have no power.Can I encourage you all this week to ask God through prayer to help you lay down your life for Jesus and be empowered to live a life in the ultimate reality of being a child of God. BlessingsJames