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Free but Not Cheap

"If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."  Matthew 16:24

 

During the early years of the twentieth century, Bill Borden turned his back on one of America's  great family fortunes to become a missionary to China. He only got as far as Egypt where, still in his twenties, he died of typhoid fever. Before his death he wrote, "No reserves, no retreats, no regrets!"

Discipleship is always costly. No, it may not cost us our lives. But it will cost us. It will cost us our plans, our wills, our selfish desires. Jesus' standard has not changed: "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24). Instead of controlling our lives, we turn them over to Christ as Lord.

Someone has said, "Salvation is free but not cheap." It cost Jesus His life, and it will cost us as well. But could anything be greater? Could anything be more fulfilling?

Follow Christ, and at life's end you will be able to say, "No regrets!"

From, HOPE for Each Day: Morning & Evening Devotions, by Billy Graham.