"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first" (Matthew 19:29,30).
An interesting event of Lancaster County is the benefit auction held annually for many Christian schools in our area. Though we usually attend the one that's just up the street from us we were unable to do so on Saturday due to Brooksyne's recent accident. But we watched the cars go by as many folks attend and support this worthy cause every year. Our rural lane has its greatest usage during the yearly Kraybill School Auction. Items in the auction are generally donated by local businesses and auctioned off to the highest bidder to benefit the school. Auctioneers are generally very colorful people, who apart from their distinctive "call", use humor to keep things moving.
During a sale I attended an auctioneer was trying to auction off a package from a local car wash and it wasn't moving very well. He broke the silence by telling a story: "Now I heard of a fella that didn't wanna wash his car because he reckoned the dirt was all that was holding it together." Following a few seconds of laughter the car wash package then sold at a good price!
It occurred to me that there is a spiritual lesson here. I have met people reluctant to come to Christ for fear that their only identity is the "dirt." Perhaps they feel that it is the only thing holding them together. An example of this is a heroin addict whose familiarity of addiction is like dirt gripping them from the freedom that Christ wants to give. This is also true of people associations. Many of us have heard the mocking line: "I don't care if I go to hell. I'll have plenty of friends to keep me company."
The daily Scripture portion has long intrigued me though I don't believe I ever preached from it. It describes a price for following Christ that very few reading this have ever had to pay. Yet throughout history and even in our modern day many have made such a sacrifice. (Consider the tremendous price paid by converts to Christ from the Islam religion.)
The point of the verse is not that we will necessarily have to leave that which we cherish so much on this earth but, comparatively speaking if we are called to do so, it will definitely be worth the price.
So today I urge you to place your faith in Christ and hold firmly to the Word of God. Whatever temporal vices you might choose to hold you together pales in comparison to the eternal benefits of following Christ. I end with the Apostle Paul's powerful perspective: "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:8).
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily Prayer: Father, forgive us when we seek after temporal solutions to meet the deep yearnings of our heart. Your eternal solution was to send Jesus, Your Son, to give us life – a life that is no longer empty or imprisoned by sin's chains. Thank You for Jesus who came that we might have abundant life through His substitutionary death on our behalf. Nothing on earth and no person dear to our hearts deserves our allegiance more than our Savior. Thank You for coming; thank You for giving and thank You for saving us from ourselves. Amen.
