The Price is Right – 2nd May 2007

A holiday of a lifetime, a new car, diamond jewellery, a speedboat; Tempted by an array of prizes, can you guess the price correctly and win the lot?

But what is the price? Not just a fabulous bounty of new items, but also the additional stress of the insurance, the tax, the need to find a mooring for the boat……

The cost of this inheritance is further reaching than the initial excitement of the gain.
It is the same in our lives as Christians. Though the overall gain is great, there is a cost in following Jesus. I think we're all aware of the fact that God wants to use us in some way, shape, or form, but I think that it is easy to forget that often there is a cost involved.

In the book of Matthew, Jesus said: "Anyone who wishes to be my disciple must pick up their cross and follow me." Matthew 16:24.

Notice that Jesus didn't say anyone who wishes to be my disciple may want to pick up their cross. He didn't leave us that option. Christianity is sometimes not a comfortable existence. Yes, there are benefits to following Christ, but there are also costs, and if we want to follow Him, we must be willing to pay that cost.

Yes, it's hard and it sometimes hurts. However, I know from experience that it is worth the cost. As a child of a non-Christian family, when my values and actions changed as a result of becoming a Christian, I paid the price numerous times, being ridiculed and rejected as a cult freak. And we all in our every day lives face the same.
We are faced with difficult decisions, challenges and choices based upon our commitment to Christ. We are forced to ask ourselves “ What would Jesus do..?”

When we stand before God, we won't be answering to our critics, but rather our biggest fan who will be so pleased with what we've accomplished in the face of opposition. And when we hear the words "well done, good and faithful servant" any price we may have paid here will look silly in comparison to the rewards that await us in eternity.

Today I want to ask you if you are willing to pay the cost? Are you willing to make the hard choices and abandon both your image and your popularity? Are you willing to make sacrifices in order to gain eternally?

I believe, ultimately, that the price is right