The Price Of Eternal Life

There was once a pig and a chicken hanging out together in the barnyard. The farmer and his wife walked by and the pig and the chicken heard the farmer say to his wife, “Dear, I think we will have bacon and eggs for breakfast this morning.” The chicken was excited and turned to the pig only to see a look of pure terror on the pig’s face. “My goodness, what is wrong?” asked the chicken. The pig, through trembling lips, replied, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong? The breakfast only requires a small donation from you. But for me it is total commitment!” Total commitment.

Total commitment is required to truly excel at something. Who are the athletes who attain greatness in their sports? You may be surprised to find out that it is not always those who are the most gifted who become great. It is those who commit totally to the demands of practice, practice, practice that excel. Who are the great people of science? It is those who never give up. Instead, they are totally committed to their search for answers and stop at nothing to find those answers to the most difficult questions.

Total commitment. It is the price for eternal life. In Scripture, God says that we have to be totally committed to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in order to truly experience all of the glories of a life spent in Heaven with Him for all eternity. Now, this is not a new concept. We find examples of people who were totally committed to God throughout the entire Bible, Old and New Testaments. Some of these people were:

• Enoch – walked daily with God and did not die, but was taken up to Heaven for all eternity.
• Abraham – committed his life to God and became the Father of Nations.
• Moses – once he committed to God, led his people to freedom across the Red Sea.
• David – God called David, “a man after My own heart.” And, although he sometimes messed up in a big way, God stayed with him and David is known as one of the best rulers in Israel’s history.
• Job – stayed committed to God even though his world fell apart and he lost everything. For his persistence in remaining faithful to God, God rewarded Job with ten-fold what he had lost.
• The widow with only two cents to her name – committed her last small amount of money to God, and Jesus called her, “blessed more than all those others who gave out of their leftovers, while she gave out of her poverty.”
• The Apostles – committed their very lives unto death to God, suffered greatly, but reaped the greatest of rewards, eternal life.
• St. Stephen – stoned to death because of his total commitment to Jesus, but got to see “Jesus in the clouds” just before he died and his spirit was taken to be with the very same Jesus forever, in Heaven.
• St. Paul – the most ruthless persecutor of Christians, who after his conversion to Christ on the Damascus road, so totally committed himself to spreading the Gospel of Christ, that we still read his accounts and teachings today, some 2,000 years after they took place.

So, the promised rewards are one reason why we should totally commit ourselves, our lives, our talents and our resources to God. He has promised us ten-fold of what we sacrifice for him. Many people feel that we should not focus on the promised rewards for our faith and commitment. And indeed, if that is the only reason why we live the Christian life, then I agree. But I believe it is okay to look forward to the rewards as a prize to be given. If not, I do not believe God would have mentioned them at all. They should never be the reason for our commitment, but they should be appreciated.

Another reason we should totally commit to God is that He tells us that is what he desires for us to do. As a matter of fact, Jesus tells us that if we do not totally commit all that we have, all that we are, to bring glory to his name, then our professed love for Him and submission to His will for us, is in serious doubt. For if we put anything before Christ in our lives, then we are elevating that thing, whatever it may be, above Christ in importance in our life, and thus we make that thing god, at and for that moment.

We must never allow Jesus Christ to be “second Fiddle” in our lives. He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. That, right there, is a very good reason to totally commit to Christ. Jesus is Ruler of Heaven and Earth. In my opinion, the very best reason to commit totally to Jesus Christ is that Jesus totally committed His life to and for us. Jesus is so committed to us that, even when we did not deserve it, Jesus gave up His glory in Heaven to come to Earth as a human baby, live among us as one of us, suffer the torture and humiliation of crucifixion and die for our sins. Jesus did all of that in order that we, me, you, and every person ever to exist, might have the opportunity to get back in a right relationship with God Almighty.

Think about it for a moment. Jesus gave up everything and suffered everything without any guarantees that humans would ever accept His work done for us on the cross of Golgatha. Indeed, many of us have not, and will not, accept His sacrifice given for us. Yet, in spite of that, Christ did what He did so that we who will accept Him as our Savior and Lord could be redeemed. And you know what? He would have done it all even if He knew that only one person in all of mankind’s history would accept him.

So, there you have it. Christians profess that Christ died for us that we may have eternal life. If we really believe that, if we really believe that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, if we really believe that Jesus is God the Son, if we really make Jesus Savior and Lord of our lives, if we really believe that Jesus gave His all for us and totally committed Himself to us, then can or should we do anything less than totally commit ourselves to Him?

Now, I ask you, how about you? Do you believe all those things about Christ? I mean, do you really believe them? If not, get to know Jesus better. Pray to Him. Talk with Him. If you do believe, then I ask you, are you totally committed to Him? Are you holding back anything in your worship of him? Are you withholding your talents or resources from Him? If you are, then you need to examine your professed belief in Him as your Savior and Lord.

My prayer for all of us is that our belief in Christ as Savior and Lord be strengthened and grow today, tomorrow, and always, and that we gain the total commitment for Him, that Jesus the Christ has for us. All honor and glory is His forever! AMEN!