Thursday, July 12, 2012

The Cost of Freedom

The Cost of Freedom
By Carri P.

There is an interesting passage in Luke 14:28-30 that tells a story of a builder not counting the cost before he begins to build.  It would be a big loss for him as well as a huge blow to his pride.
I recently saw a piece of property for sale.  This property had a concrete foundation poured.   I suppose the previous owners may have run out of funds because it was ready for the new owner to begin building.  How sad to see this dream abandoned.  It would be even sadder to see someone leave the faith because they did not count the cost of following Jesus Christ.

Just as Jesus has told us, “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:27 NIV
As Christian mothers, we see the cost of not only being a Christian and being a disciple, but also the cost of training up our children to do the same.  Freedom that Jesus has provided us may be a free gift, but discipleship comes with a price tag. 

Our kids are watching us.  They observe us waking up early to meet with God to power up our souls,  spending our time at church and in Bible studies, setting aside time at home to train them by reading Bible stories, overcoming any traces of fear to talk to other people we meet about Jesus Christ, encouraging others with God’s word.  It is the fruit of our labor we see when our children mimic a holy action.
There is a cost involved, however, we do not have to do this by ourselves.  Just as one man or woman does not go to battle alone, all Christians are called to fight the good fight and “spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together… let us encourage one another.”  Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV  We are a Christian army fighting each day under the Christian Community flag.

May we take our fight seriously and reach out to other mothers in distress.  May we put out our hands out and pull them up alongside us when necessary.  May we not leave our wounded to die along the way but spoon feed them the power of Jesus Christ to heal them and make them strong.  May we do all things in His name so that He will recieve honor and glory and that our children will replace us in an even stronger army of Christian citizens upon this earth.
Challenge:  Train up your children to be mighty warriors for Jesus Christ.  Reach out your hand to a struggling mom or an unbeliever and pull them from darkness into the light through the power of the Holy Spirit.

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