DO WE REALLY COUNT THE COST?

Today our sermon was based out of Acts 8, (the story of Philip ministering to the Ethiopian, verses 26-40 to be exact), and what the value of one soul means to God.  Philip was called off to a beaten path for one man, one soul to be saved.  His life was interrupted for a single man.  BUT, Philip chose obedience and went.  Oh for me to be like Philip.

Our Pastor challenged us that the greatest sin in America is self worship.  Yep, even in the church (and I am guilty of it too), the love of me is more important than anyone else.  Why else do I get aggravated when someone is driving to slow, or when a child doesn’t behave the way I wish, or when someone infringes on my “personal and quiet” time.  WHY?  Because it is all about me!  Then he asked us if we truly count the cost, the value of one life, one soul; the true value of one person.  Do we really?

After a convicting message, we gathered our brood and headed out to lunch.  Why?  Because, I didn’t want to cook.  At the restaurant someone asked us if we were “done” having children followed by my all time favorite question, “don’t you know what causes this?”  I smiled and responded that our children were gifts, intended by God.  To me this tied into what I heard this morning.  We don’t understand the value of life, the value of one soul.

After we returned home, I picked up my last magazine to be published by SALT.  There in an article written by Cindy McDermott, I found myself nodding my head yes and agreeing as she discusses their belief in having a large family, placing value in children, the value of one soul.  I could have written what she wrote word for word.  I KNOW how it feels to answer the questions, to deal with the comments, people talking, and in general the unkindness.  I know what hurt feelings can ensue.  I got it, more than that, I GET IT!  To quote her:

Assumptions have been made about us and about our beliefs (untrue assumptions).  Unkind things have been said to us and about us.  Our conviction in this area has affected how people treat us.  It is almost a type of persecution, albeit an extremely mild one………One of the primary misconceptions of our anti-birth control conviction is that people think that we care about how many children they have. That is absolutely not true. It has nothing to do with the number of children. Rather, it has to do with surrender.  Do we tell God that He can have us, everything we have, yet hang onto our fertility?  Do we tell God that He can’t possibly understand the expense or difficulty of raising children, that the decision is best left in our hands?  Do we question God’s knowledge, His love, or His power?  Are we fully committed to God, His plan and His purposes or not.  It’s not about the numbers. It’s about being a living sacrifice to God, fully surrendering everything to Him, including our fertility. (McDermott, 2013 page 17 Para 6-7)

For me this tied in perfectly to the lesson this morning.  Am I willing to surrender everything, go off the beaten path like Philip?  Am I willing to count the cost, to follow Christ all the way to the cross, to see the true value of one soul?  Oh please do not think I am claiming perfection in this area.  Indeed the opposite is true.  I get aggravated with people, yes even my children.  I get the ME syndrome and want things my way right away.  I don’t want to get out of my comfort zone.  I don’t want to tell everyone I see about the love of Christ because they might think I’m a nut.  I don’t like answering the questions about why we aren’t on birth control why don’t we watch more TV, why don’t we know what causes this.  I don’t want to, but I need to.  WHY?  It’s the value of one soul, the value of one life that matters.  I’m nothing, Christ is everything!

True surrender is hard.  The thing about me being a living sacrifice is that I have the tendency to get off the altar, daily, hourly, minute by minute because the altar is a hard place to be.  Lord, change me and help me surrender should be my daily prayer. 

No, I don’t believe we are done having children.  I believe that God will bless us with many more.  Each life is of value, even the son we never got to hold had a purpose.  No I am not there in my daily walk with Christ.  I fail daily, but I am purposing to try better.  I want to surrender; I want to see the value of life, the value of one soul.  My question is, do you?

 

Reference

McDermott, C. (2013) Thoughts and Lessons of Mine One More Time SALT

          Magazine, Farewell Issue. Pages 15-20