Willing to Pay the Price

One of the challenges of being a believer in Christ is committing to the cost of discipleship. Salvation (at least for us) is free; but there's a cost to discipleship. So, if a person is serious about being a disciple of Christ and being all that God has called them to be, they have to be willing to pay the price.

Jesus says in the 3rd chapter of the Book of Revelation, "I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire." To "buy" means there's a price to be paid. He also states in the14th chapter of Luke, that we need to "count the cost." There's a price to pay if one is going to be a true disciple of Christ.

One of the reasons why this is such a challenge for many believers in the church is because we are conditioned to embrace a "convenient Christianity," not a "costly" one. In other parts of the world, as we have recently seen in Kenya, people are dying and being persecuted for their faith in Christ. In America, there is still a strong degree of acceptance for people who accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. Even though we thank God for this, some believers, including preachers, have taken this freedom for granted and relegated the blessing of Christianity to material and creature comforts.

God is in the process of putting together an Army. He is ready to establish His Kingdom through the rulership of His Son and the fellowship of His church. However, if you're to serve in God's End-Time Army, you're going to have to be willing to pay the price. You're going to have to be willing to "endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (2Timothy 2). You're going to have to be willing to deny yourself, carry your cross, and follow Him (Matthew 16). You're going to have to be willing to endure persecution for the Name of Christ (2Timothy 3).

The days of  complacent Christianity have expired. No longer should we be looking to serve the Master in a spirit of convenience and comfort. We should be looking to sacrifice, to surrender, even, if need be, to lay down our lives. But we must be willing to pay the price.