The Pearl

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. (Romans 5:15)

Yes, salvation is a free gift. We cannot buy it with money. We cannot earn it through our good deeds. We cannot afford it in any way. But it's available and it's unlimited to whoever chooses it. All who come to Jesus, repent and follow Him will be saved from hell. Paul emphasizes in his letter to the Romans that salvation is free and salvation is indeed a gift. God presents it to us out of His great love for us. A love so powerful that even though our sin must be punished, He would go to great lengths to make a way for us to escape having to be the ones to suffer for it.

Salvation is indeed free for the recipient. But God did have to pay for it.

It's the Christmas season and people are buying gifts left and right for their family, friends, and especially their children. When I give gifts to my children, they don't have to pay for it. I don't ask them to earn it in any way. I just want them to have these gifts because I love them and they bring me joy. It may not cost them anything, but it costs me $14.99 here, $29.99 there, etc. In the same manner that I pay out-of-pocket for my children's gifts, God chose to pay for our salvation.

Jesus, the Son of God, was obedient to His Father's will and gave up His life so we could receive this gift. We must remember that as much as Jesus is God, He is also very much still Man. While He is above mankind, He still had to endure suffering - very real suffering. He was tempted in all the same ways we are tempted. Considering His humanity, do you think it was easy for Jesus to be around other men His age who were all getting married and having children? These are men He would have grown up in the synagogue with. Jesus paid for our salvation not only in death, but in how He lived the life of a suffering servant. That is why the Bible refers to Jesus as a 'Man of sorrows' in Isaiah 53:3.

Therefore, our salvation was not cheap because Jesus had to give up more than we can imagine. God paid a steep, steep price to open the gates of Heaven for us. And as with anything we receive that is expensive, there is a cost to maintaining it. Imagine you receive a car as a gift. Cars are generally not thought to be cheap. Even the cheapest of used cars may cost hundreds, if not, thousands of dollars. So receiving a car as a gift is fantastic. While the car might be free, the cost of maintaining it isn't. You need to make sure you rotate the tires, change your oil periodically, get it washed, add wiper/coolant fluids, general repair and maintenance, etc, etc. All of these things will cost you money.

I recently received a free generator from my brother-in-law. It was a very generous gift because these are expensive pieces of equipment! When I went to pick it up, he spent some time going over all the details of how to care for and operate the machine. Besides the obvious, which is that it needs fuel to run (and fuel costs money), this generator will cost me time and energy in preventative maintenance.

Salvation is a gift from God, but it will cost you.

It might cost you some of the things you like to do. It might cost you some money as you find yourself more inclined to give to others. It might cost you friendships. In fact, it should. If your friendships and relationships with family, etc. haven't been impacted by your salvation then you might need to reevaluate your understanding of what it means to be a disciple. Overall, it's good to ask yourself - what is it costing me to follow Christ? Hint: The answer shouldn't just be "one hour on Sundays."

So much of the preaching we encounter talks about how salvation is a free gift...and it is. But I personally feel we must place more emphasis on the ongoing cost of owning that gift. Jesus often explained the cost of being His disciple. We see it in Luke 14:25-33 that Jesus turned to the large crowd following Him with a stunning message about "counting the cost." He shared that before we commit to following Him, we should count the cost of salvation. Think of it this way: Imagine you are a musician and you decide to join an orchestra. They hold practices 5 days a week for up to 3 hours a night. On top of that, you're expected to spend a few hours each day on your own practicing your instrument and part. Do you think it's possible to be part of that orchestra and only attend practice once a week or maybe only at your leisure? Do you think it's possible to ignore the homework and still be able to fulfill what's expected of you?

The bottom line is I don't think many of us count the cost, nevertheless, know how to. And I think that's because NOBODY talks about it. I know it wasn't explained to me when I first became a follower of Christ. I just wanted my life to get better. I didn't expect that when I started sharing Christ with others, it would be uncomfortable and people would talk behind my back, make jokes, and ridicule me. I didn't expect to have to give up my comfort. I certainly don't want to think about anything the Bible says about followers of Christ being tortured and killed for their faith. I'd much rather coddle myself and ignore the hard facts. I'd much rather turn a blind eye to the persecution that Jesus says will come if we follow Him. But I can't because it wouldn't help anyone, myself included. That's why I'm writing this to you.

Your life is precious. You get one opportunity from your birth until your inevitable death to call upon the LORD Jesus Christ and walk with Him. The stakes are very high. You need to know Jesus loves you and gave everything for you. As Jesus shared, He is the pearl of great price. What price wouldn't you pay to follow Him?

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:45-46)