The Price of Free

Our old home was a dungeon. We used to be chained there… in the dark...waiting to die. Then Jesus freed us. He broke our chains, he took our place and then he paid the price of our punishment. We couldn’t earn this freedom. We couldn’t buy this freedom. We couldn’t steal this freedom. He gave it to us freely. And so it cost us nothing to accept this gift.

But there is a cost to following Jesus. It’s important to know this. If we blindly follow Him, expecting rainbows and candy, then we will fall away the moment any form of conflict comes our way. Below I have listed some of the costs:

The cost of alienation: We no longer belong to the world. We are outcasts to its ways. We are set apart and different. No longer can we laugh at the lewd jokes. No longer can we gather in the workplace kitchens and exchange gossip. No longer can we bad-mouth someone else because they bad-mouthed us. We must face persecution without striking back.

The cost of self denial: God must come first. We are no longer number one. We must deny our pride, our self reliance, our stubbornness. God must come first, even above our spouses, our children, our friends and our jobs.

The cost of reliance: We must give up our independence. We must put our trust in God and rely on Him in everything we do.

The cost of vigilance: We can’t relax and take it easy. We must be forever vigilant for the subtle things that turn our attention away from God. We can’t take a break. We can’t fall back on our old ways.

Are you prepared to pay the price of following Jesus? Can you think of other costs to add to this list?

Tomorrow I will talk about the REWARD of following Jesus, which far out-weighs the cost.

6 Easy Ways to Gain Elephant Skin

Did you know that an elephant’s skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5cm thick? Now that’s thick skin! Is your skin this thick? Do you have the ability to shrug off criticism, or better, learn from it? Can you ignore jibes? Can you shut out other people’s doubts about you?

Below are six easy ways to grow an elephant skin:

1. Never take it personally. Often when faced with those who are quick to judge, they have no real understanding of your position. They may be thinking they are helping you. They may be jealous. They may be afraid. What they are feeling is their problem, not yours.

2. Do your Best. You can’t be criticised for being lazy if you do your best.

3. Persevere. Don’t turn yourself into a victim by listening to hurtful words. Don’t give up if you are offered criticism. Learn from the experience. Bend in the storms, but don’t give up.

4. Pray. Pray for strength to withstand the doubts, the fears, the jibes. Pray for a thick elephant skin.

5. Trust God. Trust Him to open the doors of opportunity when they need to be opened. Trust Him to close those doors if it’s not where you are supposed to be. And believe that He will give you the desire, the drive and the ability to achieve the things you need to achieve.

6. Know you are loved. God loves you and will never stop loving you. He will hold you close and protect you. His faithfulness can never be questioned. All those doubters and haters can’t touch you because of this love.

Can you think of other ways of overcoming criticism and doubts?

photo: rock formation at Bare Island, Sydney, Australia

Persecute Me

Tell me I’m foolish. Ostracise me from your groups. Hate me. Reject me.

It only makes me stronger.

Throw stones at me. Chase me from your homes. Steal from me.

It only makes me stronger.

Say cruel things to me. Lock me in a prison. Do your worst.

It only makes me stronger.

I am stronger because I have my Lord who shields me from everything that could ever be done to me. His love for me shines through all the fear, all the hate, all the persecution.

He is Glory.

He is Life

He is mine.