Does it cost too much?

I have to laugh when people say that Christianity is a crutch…Jesus is a crutch for those who are weak. Obviously they don’t know Him. I mean, yeah, He is awesomely amazing, but He requires some things from us. Being a Christ follower is no easy call. 

In fact some are not willing to pay the cost. I was reading Matthew 8 this morning and read this story again. I usually focus on the miracle Jesus did here, but today I was pondering the people who witnessed it.

When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”  Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”  He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 

Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.

Matthew 8:28-34

So….He set these two men free. They were tormented by demon possession and probably tormented others as a result. One would think the people of the town would have celebrated this miraculous healing. Surely they had family there. Surely someone loved these men and were desperate for them to be healed. But what was the response? 

Leave us. Go away Jesus. We don’t want your healing. We don’t want your freedom. Leave us bound, the cost is just too high. We would rather deal with these demons and still get to keep our pigs. 

Aren’t we like this too? What has He required of us that we are not willing to give up? What do we think we need to hang on to? Because certainly, without a doubt, what He has on the other side of that thing is far better. There is freedom when we follow close. There is freedom when we let go. But we are so convinced that we will be missing out that we choose to walk away from the purpose and plan that we have been created for. We are so small minded. We would rather keep our pigs. 

We hold onto what we think will sustain us, but there is more than sustenance in a life with Him. 

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

2 Peter 1:3

He has given us everything we need to live a godly life. Everything. 

Can you let those pigs go? Can you walk away from that job? Can you finally put down that habit? Can you cut off that unhealthy relationship? Are you willing to pay the price to follow? The cost is no where near as high as the price He paid for you on the cross.