A believer's obedience to Christ Jesus and His commands will always cost others. The cost may be monetary certainly but there are also costs that are emotional, or as the case in the title scripture reveals, physical costs that accompany another's obedience.
For example, Billy Graham's obedience to God's call on his life to be an evangelist around the world cost his wife Ruth and their children, for there were years that he was away from home for weeks and months at a time. God's call on His man also was a call on his wife and children.
The crusades cost millions of dollars to organize and believers and even non believers paid as God prompted them to do so. Time and prayer prior to the crusade required hundreds if not thousands of volunteer's giving of their time, money and just as important their prayers. Each one doing their part as God directed them.
Jesus' obedience to the Father cost His followers financial support, as the Son of Man had no where to lay His head. (Matthew 8:20) His obedience required others to provide lodging and food for Jesus and His disciples. His obedience to come to earth brought joy to the world, but pain, and tension, to others that had their lives turned upside down by this Man from Galilee; the moneychangers in the temple lost their income, the scribes and Pharisees were exposed for the self-righteous hypocrites they truly were, no one who ever saw or heard Him left unchanged. Some were hardened with that encounter, others were changed forever for good. His disciples and followers left family, home, and work behind, never looking back just to be with Jesus, it cost them everything. And when Jesus obedience took Him to death on a cross for the sins of the whole world, this resulted in extreme anguish of soul in the hearts of His mother Mary and all of His followers. Praise God, death could not hold Life, the grave could not keep Him!!!
Mission trips cost a great deal of money and praise God so many are willing to go and yet very few can go without financial support, and all will need prayer support. That is the way God designed things to work, all of us working together to accomplish His kingdom work on earth. God receives the glory and we are humbled because we cannot do anything on our own that will be of lasting value.
"Jesus humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross." Philippians 2:8. Read what happens as a result of His obedience and what it will cost others in Philippians 2:9-11.
One way or another our obedience to the Lord always requires something from others. This brings us together in unity, this wisdom from God allows us all to serve Him by supporting one another in the call on their individual lives, be it money, prayer, time, teaching, or discipling. We are in this together, praise God for His body of believers!
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