The Crazy Ones - Part One

I remember watching the Antiques Roadshow and thinking to myself that there is a lot of stuff out there that people are willing to pay a great price for. Take for example the old tin toys that can fetch a price tag of one hundred dollars or more! The next time I go to a garage sale I will keep my eyes open for those little treasures.

Economics 201 will teach you that the price or cost of an item is “what you are willing to give up in order to attain it.” So if we look closely at the pants some of us are wearing we would be willing to give up $350 for them. We would give up 35 hours of work at $10 an hour for those pants. When I think of the cost of things in terms of hours of work I begin to gain some perspective. I think about cars, homes, boats, clothes, movies or music and all those other material positions that we cannot do without. That’s a lot of time devoted for things that will go to waste.

What about some of the things that money cannot buy? Should we call Mastercard® for their list? What comes to mind; freedom, time, friends, love? All these things are considered priceless, but what would they be worth if you could buy them? Would you give your house, your family, or even your life? Think of some of the movements in the past that have revolved around these concepts. World wars were fought in the name of freedom, there were movements to end slavery, for equality between men and women, races, and while not more recently but definitely more ‘noticed’ now, the end of poverty.

I have been thinking about that list for sometime – the things that money cannot buy and their costs – (feel free to add to it) and then I considered my faith.

Being a Christian in North America, the notions of suffering or sacrifice are virtues all but lost among me, and in my own observation I think we have things pretty good. We can have our cake and eat it too I suppose. I can worship the Lord and be forgiven consistently every week, and then look after my own success and image for the remainder of the week. But what is the cost, the worth?

Have you ever heard the words “the Gospel is a free gift?” Have you ever urged someone to take the step of faith to accept Jesus Christ assuring them that their life will be ‘better’ and that it will ‘cost them’ nothing? I know that I have, and I am now beginning to see things quite differently.

I went on a search in the Book of Life for examples of people paying a price for their faith. The names like Davis, Joseph, and Samson come to mind. My good friend Abraham gives me the most terrifying view of the cost of his faith. He waited years for the Lord to work a miracle in his life, the birth of his child Isaac from his barren wife Sarah. And after He was true to His word, he asked for Abe to give it (his dream come true - his son) back to Him. I have no idea what Abraham’s thoughts might have been as he wrestled through these the outcomes of his own obedience, but for some reason in the end He submitted himself to the fact that his God had spoken, and he was going to be obedient to His voice. That He was worth it.

Why?