Word Count: 831

Contact Jerry Ousley

Faith that Costs Nothing

by Jerry Ousley  
5/02/2014 / Christian Living

We had an old lawn mower. I couldn't get the thing started for the life of me, and to make matters worse, the wheels were literally about to fall off! Over the years I had fixed them but putting on new bolts and so forth. The body of the mower was beginning to wear and in order to keep those wheels on I had used large washers to take up the space where the body had rusted away. But now it was just too far gone.

In deciding how we were going to get rid of it we determined that we'd just set it beside the road at the end of the driveway. In our little town, when something's left there it means that this item has been placed into "public domain." First come, first serve; if you want it here it is.

We placed it there that morning and by mid-afternoon it was still there. Surprisingly no one had taken it. Debbie said something like, "I wonder what would happen if we put a price on it?" That seemed ludicrous to me if no one had gotten it for free, why would they pay money for it? Since we had not received any takers yet I thought "Oh well, let's see what happens." So I dutifully took an old piece of cardboard and marked $15.00 on it, took it out to the road and placed it on the old mower.

In about half an hour there was a knock on the door. They man standing there asked a few questions about the mower, and I answered them honestly, telling him I couldn't get it to start and it was probably good for nothing but parts. He handed me $15.00 and the mower was gone. Who would have thunk it? I told Deb, "Now I wish I had put $20.00 on it!" Paying a price meant the difference. It's like that in everything we do. If we don't pay the price it isn't worth much to us or anyone else.

There is a point to this story. Going back to David and his sin in 2 Samuel 24, when he asked God to stop the plague that was killing thousands, God told him to go to the threshing floor of Araunah and sacrifice to Him there. He did as God had instructed but when he arrived, after explaining his mission to Araunah, the man offered his own oxen for the sacrifice. He also offered his threshing tools as wood for the fire. David's answer was classic. He was the king. It would have been an honor for Araunah to provide these things for his king. But the sin was David's. He had to pay, not Araunah. So he bought the oxen and tools from the man and sacrificed to God. Because of his obedience, and his understanding that the debt was his and his alone, the Bible tells us that the plagued stopped.

We have a little different scenario when it comes to salvation, yet the principle is still the same. In our case Jesus paid the price for our sin, and He did this because it was a price we couldn't possibly pay. The price was a sinless, human sacrifice who could once and for all cancel the debt of mankind. There was no one to do that, and so we all stood helplessly condemned. But God became a man in Christ Jesus, and He offered Himself as our sinless, perfect sacrifice on Calvary. Not only that but He was raised to life the third day once and for all conquering sin and death on our behalf. He now offers this to us as a free gift. All we have to do to complete the transaction is to believe in Him and accept His free gift.

Unfortunately we have made so much to do about the free gift that I'm concerned people are taking it for granted. Just like in the case with the mower, when there is no cost involved then we have a way of minimizing it. But in reality, even though salvation is a free gift there is no such thing as a faith that costs nothing. There is a price to pay. There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation, but once we have received the gift our hearts should change. We have made a commitment to Jesus Christ that many have paid with their lives to keep. We risk persecution, ridicule and being considered second class citizens because of our free gift.

Our selfish desire should be replaced with a willingness and a want-to attitude to be of service to others. The gift is free, but to keep it, and to keep our faith intact, requires a sacrifice on our own. Just like that old mower, when we see that there is value to it, and a very great value when it comes to our salvation, then things seem to change.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! Click here and TRUST JESUS NOW

Read more articles by Jerry Ousley

Like reading Christian Articles? Check out some more options. Read articles in Main Site Articles, Most Read Articles or our highly acclaimed Challenge Articles. Read Great New Release Christian Books for FREE in our Free Reads for Reviews Program. Or enter a keyword for a topic in the search box to search our articles.

Enter comments below. Due to spam, all hyperlinks posted in the comments are now immediately disabled by our system.

Please type the following word below:

Not readable? Change text.

The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Hire a Christian Writer, Christian Writer Wanted, Christian Writer Needed, Christian Content Needed, Find a Christian Editor, Hire a Christian Editor, Christian Editor, Find a Christian Writer