Spend Wisely

Early in my life as a believer I was terrified by part of what I thought was being asked of me.  I had a deep sense overall that the path I was embarking on was a good and right one for life, but felt an oppressive weight in the statement of “he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”  That verse in Matthew 24, along with several places where the escalation of war, chaos, persecution is reported, and the early church accounts of beatings, stonings, being sawn in two all made me shake in my shoes.  I was a timid young woman.  I didn’t think I could ever pull off what was being asked.  I went through some deep angst and fear over considering the possibilities that may be ahead.  But I decided not to pull back.  It was a very good choice and the one that led to the incredible opportunity of being transformed as God himself has actively been about teaching me and working in my life.  I am endlessly grateful that I decided to see what He would do if I began to let Him have time and space.  

This morning I was reading in Luke 14 and the section titled in my bible “The Cost of Being a Disciple.”  Jesus is talking about the commitment that is asked of us. He describes two scenarios where someone would think about what he is entering into before starting the effort.  He wants us to make a decision about how we are going to do this, because the life He is inviting us into isn’t one where we just tote Him in a crowded bag with everything else we want to haul along.  He asks us to give up well...everything...and make a whole bunch of room for Him.  His goal isn’t to leave us empty, but to have more room to give us the best.

Some might think that Jesus failed pretty miserably as a salesman.  I’ve always appreciated that He doesn’t mince words.  In spite of the fear, that is what made me ultimately feel safe with Him.  He tells it straight:  We cannot really go His way if we are keeping all our plans and just taking Him out as an occasional snack when we get a tiny hankering for Him.  We are so foolish sometimes.  This is the God of the universe we are talking about.  Having Him as a decoration of some kind pretty significantly misses the point.

What value do we place on God?  If we don’t think He is good, if we aren’t curious about what He is up to, if we don’t enjoy His company or aren’t stirred by what He has already created and done, we may want to pause and consider what in the world we are doing and start to look at it from a clearer lens.  NEWS FLASH:  He’s an interactive God. And He wants to do amazing things with you.  He values you.  He has already invested heavily in you.  He has more good planned.  Would you be interested?

The cost, we will find, is not what we have to pay, it is in discovering what we have gained.  

Photograph from morguefile.com by DodgertonSkillhause