How Bad Do You Want it?

Lately, I've found myself really wrestling with a few issues on a personal level.  I mean, the call of God is so incredible for all of us, but requires so much of us.  When you really consider it in the grand scheme of things, it really ISN'T that much.  But on the other hand on a practical level, it's everything!  Take for instance the call of God to follow after Him where Jesus says unless you're willing to "hate" father, mother, sister, brother, cat, dog, and everything else in between and follow Him, you can't be His disciple.  Now of course He didn't mean hate in the sense of the absence of love, honor, and respect.  To require so would contradict His very character.  But in the sense of loving Him exceedingly more than all of these is the real premise.  Think about it.  For the former explanation to be the truth would mean that even Jesus hated the creation because He loved the Father.  Yeah, that makes sense.  I don't think so.  But I digress...

Anyway, what I'm getting at is this.  In the natural it costs EVERYTHING to follow Jesus, Man.  I'm talkin' EV-ER-Y-THING.  You ever hear of the phrase, "Give until it hurts?"  How about "Love God until it hurts?"  In the long run, Man, none of the stuff we call important will even come close to rating with God, ya know?  Not money, prestige, fame, glory, friends, husbands, wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, children, anything, will be able to rival the importance of God, even though each and everyone of those things and people are VITALLY important.  But in comparison to God, they don't even come close.

You and I have been called by the creator of all to live for Him and Him alone.  And as a result, there is such an incredible reward for walking in obedience to Him.  And the neat thing about it is, in reality, everything you give up to follow Him could possible be returned to you because the focus of your heart would be correct.  However, even if they WEREN'T returned to you, you'd still follow Him at their expense.  Question is, "How bad do you want it?"  Better said, "How bad do you want HIM?"  Are you willing to give up every aspiration you've ever held onto in order to gain being in relationship with Him as your prize?  Are you willing to let go of every passion of your heart whether it be vocationally or relationally to follow after His heart, and in so doing find YOUR heart?  What are you willing to pay?

You were created to be like Him on the earth.  How bad do you want it?

G