Is it possible to know how expensive this pursuit of Jesus is really going to be? Does the cost account for inflation? Interest? Years, maybe even decades later, are we still willing to pay?
Not a whole lot. I knew Jesus was real. I knew I wanted a relationship with Him. But it was easy. I came from a family with generations of Christianity flowing through the bloodline. Honestly, I think it would have been more odd if I hadn’t professed my faith at such a young age. But like children so often do, I grew up and began to realize that there was an entire world outside of my Christian bubble.
Side note… just because it’s funny to me… Growing up in a musical family with parents who came of age in the 1960s meant my earliest musical influences were just as much classical composers as they were Brian Wilson and Carlos Santana. Toss in some Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots, courtesy of my big brother. Then there was me – top 40 queen with Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and Boyz II Men on my walkman.
So, speaking of Christian bubbles, I remember the day nine-year-old me found out that The Beach Boys – my father’s favorite, and therefore, the core of my earliest musical memories, was not a Christian band. I was so confused and so devastated and immediately began my personal mission to pray them into the Kingdom. Not so sure it worked, but I did my best.
When we say yes to Jesus as our Lord, we are inherently saying no to the lordship of our desires.
Anyway, the point I’m making is that counting the cost can’t be a one time thing. Inflation exists in spiritual economy just as much as it does in actual dollar signs economy. When we say “yes” to Jesus as Lord, we are inherently saying “no” to the lordship of our desires. But as we grow and encounter different stages of life, what happens when that “yes” starts to feel exponentially more expensive?
Over the last two years, there have been three women that I’d considered close friends who have fallen into overt sin patterns. Godly women. Women I’ve walked with. Women who have encouraged me in some of my darkest times.
NOTE: I speak of this with as much grace as I possibly can; I am well aware of the fact that this could so easily be my story as well. There is no room or desire for judgment here.
When we rationalize our way around the Holy Spirit’s caution, before we know it, not that bad has turned into how did this happen?
Given my proximity to these situations, I can’t help but wonder, how did they get here? Again, not from a place of judgment, but rather, from a place of caution. If it happened to them, couldn’t it happen to me? How do we avoid this?
All I can come up with is that the overt sin must not have been so overt at the beginning. I don’t think we necessarily “fall” into sin. I think we’re often deceived into it. There’s usually some kind of warning about something that doesn’t seem “that bad,” but since the object of our desire isn’t overtly sinful, we ignore the warning.
When we rationalize our way around the Holy Spirit’s caution, before we know it, not that bad has turned into how did this happen?
And all of the sudden, we’re counting the cost again. Counting the cost of our disobedience. Counting the cost of our sin. Counting the cost of the fallout in our lives and the lives of those impacted by our choices.
Normal for the people of God cannot be defined by a fallen world. We have to live by a different standard. Otherwise, how are we set apart from those who do not claim Him?
In a recent conversation with one of the aforementioned women, I asked why certain decisions were made after the initial disobedience. She had committed one sin, and dealt with the fallout in a way that seemed natural to her: by turning to another sin pattern for comfort “Because it’s normal. This is what people do.”
Her answer – and the truth it revealed – broke my heart.
That’s culture. But it’s not Kingdom.
Why is the response to sin that we should go on sinning because it’s normal? We are not called to be normal. We are called to be holy. Set apart. Normal for the people of God cannot be defined by a fallen world. We have to live by a different standard. Otherwise, how are we any different than those who do not claim Him?
We can trust Him.
He already counted the cost.
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