The Cost of Believing

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Thursday, February 22, 2007

They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?" And they cast him out. —John 9:34

When Jesus healed the blind man, did everybody in town begin to rejoice because of what God had done? No. Not everyone rejoiced. In fact, the man got in trouble with the religious authorities.

This man knew so little about Jesus. When he was questioned, all he could say was, "A man named Jesus did this for me" (see John 9:11). This man did not know if he would ever meet Jesus again.

And he knew he was in trouble. You see, in those times your entire life was wrapped around the synagogue. If they threw you out of the synagogue, you would be ostracized. You would probably lose your job. You would lose your friends. You might even lose your family. So you did not want to offend these people. You wanted to stay in good with them. This man knew he was in trouble. But he began to speak out about what Jesus had done for him. He could not deny what had happened.

And I want you to remember that following Jesus will cost you. But, consider this. Though it is true that it will cost you to follow Jesus, it is also true that it will cost you more not to follow Jesus. So whatever you give up to follow the Lord, it is worth it. Whatever sacrifices you make, it is worth it to follow Jesus.

There is no getting around it. Either you are going to have harmony with God and friction with people, or you are going to have harmony with people and friction with God. The choice is yours. I think I would rather be in harmony with God. Wouldn't you?

Used with Permission