What Does It Cost You?

We often forget that everything we purchase has a price.  How many hours of your life do you give for your ipad? How many hours do you give to buy a car? How many hours of your life do you eat at Subway?  You see, an hour at work is an hour of your life that you exchange for money, then you use that hour of your life to purchase something like an ipad, a car or going to Subway.  Everyday of our life we trade away hours for cash; and cash for things.  So, in essence, we trade our life for stuff.  

Now, let me ask you this?  What is your faith costing?  Total up the number of hours you spend a week reading your Bible, going to church, Bible study, prayer, serving the needy, visiting the sick and the like and see what it costs you. Add in the hours you work to put money in the offering plate and see what your faith costs you.  What do you find? If your faith was a seat on an airplane, would you be flying economy class, coach, business class, first class or private jet?

Let me share with you 2 pictures that are in a class all their own.  The first picture is the inside of the colosseum. All the Christian had to do to escape the death sentence was to declare Caesar as Lord.  How simple.  How cheap.  With an economy class kind of faith, it seems to cost nothing to say those 3 little words; but to hold your tongue, or better yet, with 50,000 screaming fans in your presence to declare Jesus as Lord would cost you everything.They say the blood of the martyrs ran so deep in this

place that it flowed through all 77 doors of this place.  The smell of blood and rotting flesh was such a stench that workers poured perfume to cover the smell. You see, there were people whose faith caused them to give it all.  They would exchange their life on earth; they would give up the rest of their hours to live in favor of one person--Jesus Christ.  

The second picture is of a famous location.  It is the spot where one of the disciples gave up the rest of his life.  After claiming he would die with Christ and running away when the rooster crowed, Peter had a little time to think.  There was a day for Peter when being a first class follower of Jesus still gave him a little bit of wiggle room.  He loved Jesus, but did not have a faith that would cost him everything.  But many years later, Peter's faith had grown.  It had grown beyond first class faith to a private jet kind of faith.  He was all in.  No holding back.  No good enough. No it will do.  Peter would go all the way and give up the rest of the hours of his days.  In the location of the picture you see here, Peter was

crucified upside down.   He did not feel worthy to die like Jesus, but willing to die, he was.  The much older and wiser Peter realized that a faith that costs little has little value, but a faith that costs much is more precious than the hours of your life.  

I am not suggesting that you die today for your faith, but standing on two spots where many people gave the ultimate price, I began to question what my faith costs me; maybe you should take a moment, as well, and calculate the value of your faith.