COUNTING THE COST from my book "His Grace"

Count the cost!

I often felt that John the Baptist demonstrated the greatest act of obedience next to Jesus. He left society behind and entered into the wilderness eating nothing but locusts and wild honey. Even today most people think he was a few fries short of a happy meal. Yet we all hold a certain reverence for him and his calling. He was called as a forerunner and he did his job perfectly even unto death. He left the world behind and did not care what anybody thought of him. Jesus seemed to have a more normal life than John. He was trained as a carpenter and lived in a normal family situation.

Walking on the road less traveled will cost you greatly. It won’t always cost you everything but it might. You have to be continually detached from the world system. That does not necessarily mean you live like John the Baptist but you might be called to that. Following after God means listening to His voice daily and doing what He commands of you as a friend. He makes the choice of what that means not you. It means separating from the world’s glitter and all its glory and not worshipping the things of the world. You may be called to a traditional lifestyle and that’s fine. You may have a family and all that entails and there is nothing wrong with that.
   
 The wide road is a deceptive path that lulls you into complacency. You think you are following God but you are merely distracted from doing anything. In essence you are busy doing all kinds of works but really accomplishing nothing in the kingdom. When I was going to a ‘spirit filled church’ I was busy all the time. I went to a Wednesday service, a Sunday service, and everything in between. That whole time I attended that church I accomplished nothing of any value.

We were a sterile complacent society. We were all waiting for the calling but we didn’t realize we were already called and commanded to go forth. Somehow we were told that it was the Pastor’s job to bring home the fish but it was only ours to convince them to come to the service.

That not what Jesus said. He said
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”