Cost? or Price?

 

Recently, I sat in church, listening to the preacher preach truth, but my mind and my heart were in great turmoil over my selfish, self-centeredness.  I had wanted to go to church.  So I did. As I sat in the pew and began to listen to the Word on "Not being like Asa in his later years," I began to think on, exactly what it cost for my fanny to be in a church pew, listening to the WORD of God preached.  Asa traded the things of God to the enemy for peace, to prosper in peace.  As I noticed the service was not being streamed, my anguish at myself became even more intense, I was broken inside because I realized, I put myself first the expense of my husband's spirit's needs.  Why did I think it was more important for me to hear the Word than for him?   

Why is it even a choice you might wonder?  This season of life someone has to stay home to care for mother.  It isn't an option. My husband loves me enough to sacrifice something he needs for me to have what I need.  The O'Henry story "The Gift of the Magi" where the wife sells something of value of hers (her hair) to get (a watch fob) for the husband, and he sells his item of value (his watch) to get something special for the wife (hair combs).  True love sets their self aside for another.  Jesus said Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (Joh 15:13)

Sometimes I just want to scream at the top of my lungs at those that just "choose" for whatever reason to stay out of the house of God.  Do they even know what they have in the freedom to go when they want without having to make the choice of who stays home?  I want to say, "Take advantage of what you have been given, what you take for granted."  We take the ability to come and go as we please for granted and squander it away on things that have no eternal value.  Perhaps if a person considered what it would be like to not have the option of going to church when they wanted, it would mean more????? I don't know.  But this I do know, it is important to feed your spirit more so than we feed our physical man.  We don't find reasons to skip to many meals, or choose which person in the house gets to eat dinner, why do we do those things to our spiritual man, our eternal man?   

 

Take advantage of your freedom to go to the House of Worship.  Take advantage of having a Bible in front of you to read. Take advantage of the blessings God has given us to serve Him with victory.  

 

I just want to leave this thought "Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Mar 8:37  Is there anything on this earth worth choosing over taking those steps necessary to spend eternity with Jesus?