SCRIPTURE: “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?” – (Luke 14:28 ESV)
QUOTE: “Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.” -Anonymous.
NOTE:
“I am not a fan of puzzles. Never have been. Sometimes I feel like living the spiritual life is like trying to put together a puzzle without the box top picture. Often in my spiritual walk I’ve had to simply let go of what I falsely think is control – and say, “Lord, you know the big picture of my life. Help me to trust you and to go with the next piece as you provide it!” The ironic thing about that kind of surrender is that it’s much less anxiety-filled. When I think I have any kind of control over my life – I’m mistaken and the striving really gets me nowhere. When I trust the Lord to guide my steps and my decisions, I experience confidence and peace because He really is in charge. One of the biggest puzzle-pieces in my life was deciding what to do after university education. I thought I had the cover to the box of my “life puzzle” and was moving along ready to place the graduate school piece into place. Until God rocked my world!
Long story short – I heard a speaker in January of my senior year give a very simple illustration that changed the trajectory of my life. He told us to think of our lives like a contract. Did I have the contract all filled out and signed and I just needed God to sign off on my plans? Or – was I willing to place a blank contract before God, sign it and have him fill it in? I walked out of that meeting fighting back the tears before anyone talked to me, and I raced back to my dorm room. As I wept before the Lord and fully released my plans, I knew beyond a shadow of doubt that what He had planned for me would be better. My favorite definition of surrender is “to abandon rights to something.” I thought I had a right to choose what to do with my life!”
ILLUSTRATION:
Count the cost of any assignment, a decision or life in general is something that we don’t like to think about too often. But, everything comes at a cost. For an athlete, they must decide early in life just how serious he/she wants to become in their sport and train accordingly. I was watching some of the Olympians recently. Some of those people have been training for 6-10 years just to qualify to participate in the Olympic games. What dedication to sport. What a price to pay. They will train and condition themselves for years just for the chance to compete.
REFLECTION:
The Christian life out there in our families, relationships, the marketplace, does it really come with a costly?
TWO YEAR BIBLE READING: 2 Chronicles 8, Psalm 58