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Monday, April 6, 2009

The Cost of Living

Nowadays, the media is full of commentaries regarding the cost of living, including reports on the price of energy, food, housing, medical care, transportation, education, and of course, daily accounts of the fluctuating value of our Canadian dollar. To us, the term “cost of living” applies strictly to what we have to pay for our everyday “goods and services”, those things which we see as necessities of life, and what income bracket we will need to be in to enjoy our desired lifestyle.

In spiritual terms, however, the Bible has much to say about living that is in no way connected to material things. Scripture speaks repeatedly about the life of our soul. There is another life to be lived, an eternal one. It is available at, amazingly, no cost at all to us. But, as most of us have learned through experience, there is nothing in life that is truly “free.” Whenever we see that term used in an advertisement for some product, we immediately realize that there must be a cost somewhere for the deal that we are being offered.

God’s offer of eternal life is indeed free to each person who will receive it by faith in Jesus Christ, and what He did on our behalf, by taking the punishment we deserve for our sin. But He paid the price for this life, for the debt incurred by our sin, the cost for the “living” that will go on forever, and not end when our physical bodies reach the limit of their endurance. This price is one we could never pay; “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6.)

Life keeps us busy, and we all are focused on the here and now, with its many demands. At this time of year, tradition turns our attention once more to the universal symbol of Christianity, the Cross of Christ. As we go through each day, “making our living”, and attending to all the details of life, it reminds us of the ultimate price that was paid, for the greatest gift of all, the gift of eternal life.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23.)


Originally published as an article in "The Millbrook Times"

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

A recent study in Philippians prompted me to wonder, what if this one brief book were our only available Bible? How much would we have to believe and live off of? At least this:

• He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (1:6);
• We are all partakers of grace together (1:7);
• We will be pure and blameless for the day of Christ (1:10);
• Human opposition, far from defeating the gospel, is serving to advance the joyous spread of the gospel (1:12-18);
• Should life be lost, Christ is gained (1:21);
• Temporary survival is gospel opportunity (1:22);
• To depart and be with Christ is far better than this life (1:23);
• The further we go with Christ, the more joy we experience (1:25);
• The gospel of Christ is an uplifting power (1:27);
• Opposition to gospel witness presages the doom of the opponents and the glorious destiny of the faithful (1:28);
• It is a God-given privilege to suffer for the sake of Christ (1:29);
• Union with Christ brings encouragement, comfort from love, participation in the Spirit, affection and sympathy (2:1);
• Christ Jesus himself is living proof that the arrogance of this world is doomed and that gospel humility is the path of great reward (2:6-9);
• Jesus is King, and he will have every rational creature in the universe know it and own it, to the greater glory of God the Father (2:10-11);
• We do not need even an apostle always present to lead us by the hand; God himself is deeply at work in us (2:12-13);
• Knowing Christ Jesus the Lord redefines all trophies of self-exaltation as “rubbish,” for he gives true righteousness and participation in his death and resurrection; he is so superior to all things in this world that, whatever path we may take into the resurrection of the dead, the price to be paid is small (3:7-11);
• In conversion, Christ Jesus takes eternal possession of us (3:12);
• The call of God in Christ Jesus offers a prize far beyond this world, worthy of our all (3:14);
• To whatever extent we struggle to grasp the upward call, God will reveal all that we need revealed (3:15);
• To settle for the rewards of this world is to make oneself an enemy of the cross of Christ and to make a god of one’s earthly appetites, which is the path of destruction and the reversal of a truly human life (3:18-19);
• We who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh also find our citizenship in heaven, from which we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will raise our "vile" (KJV) bodies into his immortal glory by his power over all things (3:3, 20-21);
• Our names are written in the book of life (4:3);
• The Lord is at hand (4:5);
• God receives our prayers and sends his overruling peace to guard our hearts when the circumstances of life would have us frantic (4:6-7);
• As we follow the apostolic example of lovely heavenly-mindedness, we experience the presence of the God of peace (4:8-9);
• Christ strengthens us to accept with contentment whatever life may bring (4:11-13);
• When we support the ministry of the gospel, the fruit increases to our own credit (4:17);
• God receives our gospel partnership as a sacrifice pleasing to himself (4:18);
• God is committed to our own needs with all his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (4:19);
• In it all, God will get glory for himself forever and ever (4:20);
• And in the meantime, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ will steadfastly be with our spirit (4:23).

Makes me wonder, how much more is there in this Bible which I hardly know?

Anonymous said...

Every time you see me show up on your site meter.....I prayed for you!


Hippie

Maureen said...

Hippie: I am blessed indeed. Every time I see you there, I will pray for you and yours.