Everything cost something. Toilet paper costs money. What we eat and drink. We don’t just buy a car; we sustain a car. We pay for the privilege of the road through insurance, fuel, and tires. If the car stops costing you money, it usually means it’s sitting dead in the driveway.
We expect these things to cost. Yet when it comes to the kingdom of God we want everything for free. No, we can’t buy our salvation. Jesus paid the ultimate price to purchase that for us. But we pay the maintenance price (Discipleship). Salvation is a gift, but following Jesus is a sacrifice. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously said, “Grace is free, but it is not cheap.”
The early church paid a heavy price. They were “bought with a price” and lived like it. Despite this, we want it for free. We want the “amen” without the “altar.” We want the blessing without the burden. We’ve developed a “consumer” faith where we only want to participate if there is a “clearance sale” on sacrifice. We need to turn away from this mentality and be like David. How can I offer to the Lord that which costs me nothing (2 Samuel 24:24)?
The “cost” isn’t actually a loss; it’s an investment. You aren’t losing your time; you are exchanging it for His presence. You aren’t losing your money; you are exchanging it for His provision.
Stop looking for the “free” version of Christianity. If you want the power of the Early Church, you have to be willing to pay the price of the Early Church. If your walk with God doesn’t “cost” you anything, you have to ask if you are actually moving anywhere. After all Jesus said: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39).
Luke 9:23 (NIV) Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
Philippians 3:8 (NIV) What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ
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