Friday, July 13, 2018

Paying the Price (Friday Devotional)



“For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.”

- 1 Corinthians 6:20

The Internet has spoiled us in a lot of ways, but perhaps chief among them is the belief that everything online should be free—even things we used to be willing to pay for offline. I grew up in a family that paid for a daily newspaper subscription (and still does), and now I read news articles from the Waco Tribune-Herald, Dallas Morning News, New York Times, and Washington Post every day without paying a dime for the privilege. If I want to see a scene from my favorite movie, I used to have to buy or rent the DVD, now all I need to do is hop on YouTube. Even education, something which has traditionally cost big bucks once you leave the public school system, can be undertaken largely free of charge thanks to scores of online programs, articles, and videos (albeit without a degree at the end of your learning.)

You can tell pretty quickly where your online priorities lie by what you’re willing to pay for. When my favorite news site put up a paywall, I just started using a different site. Whereas when Amazon Prime upped their subscription cost, I grumbled…but never for a moment considered dropping the service. Some things we only want when they’re free, but the stuff we think is truly valuable is worth paying the price.

That principle can be applied spiritually as well. God thought your salvation was worth the price, namely Jesus’ death on the cross. God could have looked at a humanity stained by sin and chosen to leave us to our rightful punishment; He could have decided that we were unworthy of His love. But instead He sent His Son as a ransom for us all, paying the price we could not so that we might be saved.

When you think of your life in those terms, it ought to change things. Instead of ‘living for the moment,’ the knowledge that Jesus paid the price for your salvation ought to inspire you to live for the kingdom. Instead of glorifying yourself, his sacrifice ought to move you to glorify God. Instead of being compelled by greed and lust, the cross ought to point you toward love and generosity.

God thought you were worth saving, despite the high price. What are you doing with your salvation?

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