IT’S WORTH THE COST

Webster’s definition of the word kingdom is a government or country headed by a king. The first kingdom was created and established in heaven, and God was the king over it. It was His plan to extend His invisible kingdom to a visible kingdom by creating the earth and giving man dominion over it. We see this plan unfolded in Genesis 1 & 2. In Genesis 3, a man committed treason and lost his ability to rule the earth; however, dominion was given back to men with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This opportunity is available for all men to take their rightful place on earth once again, but it is a choice that each individual must make. Each one must decide, is it worth the cost?

While in conversation with His disciples, Jesus said in Matthew 16:24-26, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” His words implied that following Him was doable but not easy; it entailed self-denial, a surrendering of personal ambitions and possible fame. Man had to decide what mattered most in his life the pleasures of this world or eternal life. Man had to decide if his salvation was worth the cost.

In Matthew 13:44-46 Jesus shares these two similar parables, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” In both of these parables, the right decision was made. In the first parable, a man unexpectedly finds a valuable treasure that belonged to someone else; however, perceiving its’ worth, he willingly sold his possessions to secure ownership of the treasure. In the second parable, a man was on a quest to find a costly gem, and when he did, he too sold all of his possessions to obtain it. Both of these men realized what they wanted was greater than what they had, for gaining the kingdom of heaven to which these two parables referenced, was their ultimate goal.

As seen above, everyone’s path to salvation and entrance into the kingdom of heaven varies, but all must pay a cost. On today, I pray God will give you the desire and strength to do whatever is necessary to make it in, for it is worth the cost.