Imagine someone purchased and gave you a new car for free. It is a great and impactful blessing! However, cars have to be maintained and taken care of. See, this is the same principle that applies to our lives with God today. God sent and sacrificed Jesus on the cross to pay the debt we could never pay. It is the greatest gift ever and freely given to us without cost. However, with that gift we are given, we are also given a responsibility tied to it. Think about a car that is given as a gift. The initial payment was paid for fully; however, cars have to be maintained and taken care of if you want them to run properly. In the same manner, your debt of sin was paid and atoned for. This allowed you to be able to have that relationship with God, but that relationship must be maintained. Therefore, what is the cost of maintaining that relationship with God?
“Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.” – Luke 9:23-26.
Jesus made it very clear the cost to follow Him. Denying one's self. Yes, there will be persecutions for following the faith. This cost is one that many aren’t willing to pay today. Everyone wants the car without the responsibility of maintaining it. Everyone wants the benefits without the price. The rich young ruler was a good example.
“Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” – Matthew 19:16-22.
To start, the ruler asked Jesus how to receive eternal life. Yet, the rich young ruler was disheartened and sad when he went away because he wasn’t willing to give up his possessions here on earth for Christ. You see, why would someone who is wealthy, rich, and has everything give it all up for Christ when all they value is what they have, and they are satisfied with the things of this world? Compared to someone who is poor, has nothing, and is desperate, they are looking for anything, and Christ is there wanting to help them. It is like someone who is full and someone who is hungry. It is hard to eat a plate of food when you are stuffed, but when you are hungry, that plate of food is most certainly desirable. The more you have, the more you have to be willing to deny it all. Does this mean you cannot be rich and wealthy? Absolutely not! God wants us to prosper and be blessed. This is simply showing how the love of money can be the stumbling block between someone receiving and walking with Christ or remaining lost in this world. Even those who walk with Christ can be distracted and drift away to the love of money.
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” – 1Timothy 6:10.
Remember, eternal life is all about the relationship between you and Christ. Relationships have great costs, and marriage is a great type and shadow of this. In marriage, both spouses have to be willing to compromise in areas and give up their ways for each other. See, you have to love the person, and love is selflessness. If you are all prideful and full of self, you won’t get very far. A close relationship isn’t just a few hours once a week, but a constant thing within one’s life, yet many of us treat a relationship with God as a chore rather than our purpose. How would it feel if your spouse or best friend treated spending time with you as a chore? It’s not a chore to have a relationship with God; it’s a privilege that God paid a hefty price for. Remember the rich young ruler? He was asking what he lacked, even though he kept all of the commands from his youth. Jesus simply told him to let go of the things of this world, which was his wealth, and follow Him. Relationships aren’t a set of rules; it is a journey that we walk with rules and boundaries we choose to follow for the sake and well-being of that relationship. So overall, you need to ask yourself a very serious question that determines many things within your life. Are you truly up for the cost of following Jesus and having a relationship with Him, which is the greatest reward and truly is eternal life?
“For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it – lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’” – Luke 14:28-29.
Jesus warned us to count the cost. Many want Jesus, but few truly count the cost, and even fewer are willing to pay the cost to follow Him. Some try and lay that foundation but end up giving up. There truly is no point to life other than Christ. As Solomon put it in Ecclesiastes 1, it is all vanity. I encourage you with everything in my being to count this cost, choose wisely, and follow Him, as that relationship is truly the most precious thing ever and sweeter than life itself. Don’t give up, don’t quit, and pursue Him with every ounce of strength you can muster up, for it will serve you well to do so.
“Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you.” – Psalms 63:3.