Assumptions

 We tend to assume that if people knew how to do something, or what they needed to do in order to achieve a specific goal, they would do it. It would be an optimistic assumption, to be sure, but a misguided one, because most people do know how to get what they want, they’re just too lazy to do it.

We’ve all heard the saying that nothing worth having comes easy. If something’s worth having it will take some time and elbow grease. It requires perseverance to go through ten years of medical school so that you can tinker with people’s hearts. If you wanted to stock shelves at Walmart, not so much. In less than a week, you too can be an associate and be the proud wearer of a blue vest that you will have to return in the unlikely event of your termination or if you quit your job. While it’s true that if you have a pulse and don’t go around biting people’s ears you’re unlikely to get terminated, quitting is highly probable unless you’re dead inside and just waiting for the rest of you to get the memo.

It all depends on what you want to achieve, and what you desire to obtain. The greater the goal, the achievement, or the attainment, the more time and effort they require. Once you figure out how much time it will take, you must determine whether you’re willing to make the sacrifice and do the hard work. As Jesus put it, count the cost.

If Jesus admonished us to count the cost, then a cost is involved. It’s a given that what you get in return for what you give is priceless, but you still have to give something to receive what He promises. It’s great that we sing about giving Him our hearts and our souls, but just singing about it won’t cut it. We must go beyond the singing to the doing and follow through with our declaration.

Are you willing to surrender not just part of you but all of you? That’s the cost, and God will accept nothing less. Divided hearts, like divided loyalties, lead to messy, painful places. Though you may think you’re special enough for God to make an exception and take only what you’re willing to part with, you’re not, and neither am I, and painful as it might be to hear it, someone has to say it.

If you’ve counted the cost and determined that you’re willing to incur it, from that point forward, you are no longer your own, doing what you want, as you want, when you want, but you belong to Him, and your singular purpose is to become what He desires you to be.

Yes, I know, you’re a priest and a king, ruling nations with a rod of iron, but Jesus still said that to follow Him, you must deny yourself and take up your cross, so there’s that.

The perspective with which we see ourselves, God, and the dynamics of our relationship determines how we view trials and testing in our lives. When we submit to His authority and accept the dynamic of Master and servant, Creator and creation, Father and son, then living in harmony with the will of God becomes our focus, knowing that it’s the harmony that brings about spiritual health and maturity.

You cannot grow in God outside of obedience to His word. You cannot mature spiritually while living in rebellion against God’s commands. You cannot belong to Him while denouncing His nature and disregarding His will for your life.

Then that would mean there are scores of people walking about thinking it is well with their soul just because they raised a hand and said a prayer when all is not well. Is that what you’re saying? Are you saying there are people who think they’re saved just because of a one-time experience but who never followed through with denying themselves and taking up their crosses?

I’m not the one saying it; the Bible is, but nowadays, all that’s ever used for is to remind people to bring their tithes into the storehouse. Whether or not they’re walking humbly with their Lord, living in holiness, and seeking righteousness is beside the point as long as they’re up to date on their giving. We got bills to pay; your soul can wait.

Nobody wants to hear that trials are the permanent instrument God uses for our sanctification because that would mean God doesn’t prioritize our flesh nearly as much as we do. That can’t be right, can it? If God’s emphasis is our sanctification, then that would mean our best lives take a back seat, and that’s a hard message to sell to a generation that is so self-obsessed they see nothing beyond what benefits them individually in the present. Unsustainable national debt? Making future generations indentured servants based on our frivolous spending? Who cares? Give me mine, and leave me be! What’s this belt-tightening you speak of?

It comes as a shock to many when they realize God doesn’t favor, prioritize, or elevate the flesh nearly as much as they do. Nor does He focus on our time here beyond preparing us for our time there. The whole purpose of this journey is to ensure that our destination is eternity in His presence. What we must endure on the way to that destination is not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed in us. Paul said that but what did he know? I mean, he never called money down from heaven or had a seminar on prosperity thinking. All he ever wrote about was what he suffered and endured for the sake of Christ.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.