The Cost of the Cross, what is it worth?
“What will I gain by serving the Lord? This eternal stuff may make a difference when I die, but right now I have bills to pay… I have a boy friend that I am more interested in … I have things that are a lot more fun right now. . . but right now God doesn’t seem that real to me” Ever heard one of these excuses? Ever said one like it yourself?
At times I will admit that it is hard to say with Paul “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” It is easy sometimes in the stress and hustle of life to forget that God is worthy and they way of the cross, the cost of following Christ is worth it.
Look back with me to the story of God’s people at the conclusion of the Old Testament in the book of Malachi. The so called “people of God,” though in tradition only, had a corrupt priesthood, worship that was routine, widespread divorce, social justice being ignored and tithing that was neglected. There hearts were so far from God that the prophet quotes the people as saying in 3:14 “It is vain to serve God. What profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.”
Sound familiar? In other words they were saying, Why in the world should we serve God through obeying his word and repenting of our sins when the those who think they are above God are happy and those who do evil are living the good life and testing God with no punishment coming to them!
At first the argument sounds legitimate, especially in today’s culture. If I have a good happy life on the easy road without God or worrying about my sin, then why not keep it? The fault in that mindset is found it what is considered worth having.
In verse 16 of Malachi 3 the Bible says, “Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and hear them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name.” But look how the Lord responds to those who feared him and did not see it as vain to serve God and did see profit in keeping His charge. Verse 17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. For behold, the day is coming burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and evildoers will be stubble.”
Who is happy now? Who is blessed now? Who prospers now? It is not the arrogant who are receive earthly temporal happiness. It is not the evil doer amassing wealth and temporarily escaping God? It is those who fear the Lord and esteem his name. It is “God’s people.”
The cost of the Cross, what is it worth? For me I whole heartedly believe it is worth being counted among God’s treasured possession. You can keep your day like a burning oven where you turn to stubble and I will keep my God and being his treasured possession. How glorious is the narrow, rough, and challenging way of the cross!
Philippians 3:8-11 (ESV)
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
