“Dad”
” Yes Son?”
“I want a bike.”
“A Bike?”
“Yeah Dad Tommy Johnson got a bike and its so cool dad, I want a bike”
“Okay”
“Huh?”
“I said Okay.”
“Cool!”
“Son?”
“Yeah dad?”
“How Much do you want the bike?”
” Oh Man I want it so bad I can taste it!”
“Do You want it enough to make your bed every morning?”
” Huh? Oh yeah sure I can do that…”
“And clean up your room?”
” Uh Yeah Sure I guess”
“And empty the Trash every day for your mom?”
” well…..I ….okay.”
” and help pick up after the baby?”
” Um….dad?”
“Yes Son?”
” Could I have a puppy?”
Counting the cost, never an easy thing to do. We agree that holiness is what we should have. And that to get that Holiness we need to reject the world to get it….right ?
” Oh yeah I really want Holiness God…..my friend Tom Johnson got Holiness and it is so cool!”
” Okay …I sent My Son to die for you, so that you could have Holiness”
“Huh?”
” I Said Okay”
” Cool!”
“Son?”
“Yeah Heavenly Father??”
“How Much do you want Holiness?”
” Oh Man I want it so bad I can taste it!”
“Do You want it enough to commit yourself to Me?”
” Huh? Oh yeah sure I can do that…”
“And to study to show yourself approved?”
” Uh yeah sure I guess”
“And to think more of others and their needs and less of yourself?”
” well…..I ….okay.”
” and to separate yourself world and its every entrance into your heart like worldly music and television?”
” Um….heavenly Father?”
“Yes Son?”
*******
What do I say now?
There are no puppy equivalent in the kingdom of heaven.
Counting the cost.
2 Samuel 24:24
Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
Luke 14
27And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it–29lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
Coming To God, being in Him and Him in you, is not a trivial thing. It is a lifetime commitment . Many people will be saved. Many people will have their sins forgiven and be in the kingdom of heaven. But if you want to be Holy, if you want to be in Him and Him in you….its time to start counting the cost. Its time to decide just how much you really want that bike…..I mean Holiness.
(thank you for your indulgence as I wrote this letter to myself. Oh, and no that is not my picture up there…I just thought it fit.)
May God bless you and keep you in His peace grace and joy as you walk on His path. Amen