Here’s where many fail their faith …
One of the single greatest factors to failing to live out one’s faith is the inevitable moment of paying the cost for what you really believe.
While it is true that salvation through Jesus Christ is a free gift, living as a child of God will cost you dearly. One description of the cost of discipleship is provided by Jesus in His own words:
“Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it,'” Mark 8:34-35.
Facing the cost of your faith will reveal the real courage of your convictions. One of the best examples of this is how facing the cost of faith resulted in John the Baptist momentarily tottering with his conviction.
John the Baptist’s conviction about Jesus was initially strong and plainly stated in John 1:29-34:
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I was talking about when I said, “A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.” I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.’ Then John testified, ‘I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33 I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”
In John 3:22-36, we see John the Baptist exalting Christ, and minimizing himself. His faith was solid!
But the cost of his faith caused a twitch in John’s conviction, at least briefly. John’s preaching had rubbed King Herod and his family the wrong way, resulting in his being imprisoned. Facing the likelihood of losing his head for his faith, John the Baptist takes a step in an effort to be sure of what he believed:
“John the Baptist, who was in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’” Matthew 11:2-3.
When the cost of his faith was going to be his life, John the Baptist wavered for a moment. But only a moment. He would stick to his convictions and lose his head (literally!) for what he believed.
Believing all the right things about Jesus Christ might pack people into church pews, but being faced with paying the cost for actualizing their faith keeps most of those people sitting on their hands rather than serving in the streets.
It can be easy to intellectually “believe” in Jesus Christ. But to turn that into a reality fully realized in one’s life comes with very real costs. It’s at those moments when we come face-to-face with the cost of what we believe that we either solidify our faith, or surrender it in fear.
What is your response to the cost you face of living out a real faith?
Scotty
June 28, 2011 at 8:42 pm
Wow, Scotty…this is really putting it where the rubber meets the road. Thousands of Christians around the world face this dilemma every day while a lot of Christians, who don't face that persecution, have a hard time even admitting to the people they work with that they even go to church let alone believe in Jesus.
June 28, 2011 at 8:49 pm
So true, Linda, and so well put! Thanks for sharing that insight 🙂
June 28, 2011 at 11:36 pm
John the Baptist stuck his neck out for Jesus…real faith lives sticky and RISKY.
Great post Scotty-Thanks for standing up and redirecting the flow online for HIM. o/
~Melinda Y.~
June 28, 2011 at 11:44 pm
Thanks Melinda, and amen! I like that … "sticky" and "risky"! 🙂