Not Without Cost

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Lately it seems that my life has a theme: the costliness of following Christ. Maybe that’s not the theme so much as it has been where my focus has been. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I am really not into conflict or pain or hardship and deprivation-- comfortable suits me just fine. Fortunately for me, God hasn't left me to my own limited idea of what my life should be. He challenges me (constantly it seems) in order to cause me to grow and to cause me to realize that I must depend on His strength because I have absolutely none of my own. These are lessons worth learning, and the reminder Jesus give s His disciples in Mark 8:34 is timely: ‘“And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me”’(NASB).
As I've studied Kay Arthur's Covenant over the last five weeks, she has made it clear that the covenant relationship we have with Christ is a "walk into death" in many ways, whereas I’ve often chosen to have a much more Pollyanna-ish view of the Christian life. (Check out the study put out by Lifeway if you're interested in learning more about the meaning of covenant.) Christ willingly sacrificed himself for me, which is a costliness I cannot fully comprehend even though I appreciate the benefits of it. This weekend, my husband and I picked up a book by Dietrich Bonhoeffer called The Cost of Discipleship. You can't get beyond the foreword and memoir before his willingness to pay the cost of following Christ truly hits you in the face—it is costly.
I guess I wonder when I will be able to move beyond wishing for a simpler life and instead embrace the simplicity that life in Christ should be. In Matthew 11:28-29 Jesus says, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” The rewards are not so much here in this life that often seems fraught with problems; rather it is with Him; it is peace in the midst of the storm. I really am weary right now beyond anything I think I’ve ever experienced. I am heavy-laden in ways I’ve never before known. I know I need to throw off the yoke I’ve put on myself and embrace the one He has for me. As usual, I go kicking and screaming instead of going the easy way…I need rest for my soul and a burden that is light, so I’m embracing the idea that my walk with Christ is not without cost, and I’m walking into His embrace.

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