With Thanksgiving day tomorrow, that can only mean one thing-Black Friday is two days away. What’s significant about Black Friday you may be wondering? It marks the unofficial start to the Christmas shopping season and consumers spend more money on this day than any other day of the year. We all know people that get up at 3:00am to get in line to get the deal of the year. It’s the day of our favorite four-letter word; S-A-L-E! We shop around looking for the best deal. “Discounted”, “half-price”, “wholesale”, “lowest possible price”-these words and phrases grab our attention because our goal is always to get a lot for very little.
All too often we approach our faith with the same mentality. We want the best deal. If our pastor preaches too much truth and we don’t like it, we move down the street. If we are asked to give more than we feel comfortable giving, maybe to support a missionary or make improvements to the building, we find a church across town. If we are asked to give more of our time than we really want to, you guessed it, we shop around for the best deal (a church that won’t ask us to serve too much) and move on down the street. We want to know what’s the bare minimum we can do and still be cool with God.
But notice what Jesus says in Luke 9:62, “…Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” What is Jesus saying? Following Him is expensive, it will cost us EVERYTHING.
If you read the text preceding verse 62 then you will find in His strange exchange with some would-be disciples, Jesus reveals that He isn’t looking for bargain-hunting believers. He’s seeking followers who will pay any price.
What are you willing to pay to be a follower of Christ? Are you looking for a bargain?