It was the first Sunday I was back on American soil-only the 4th day being back in Maine with family. At this point it was about two weeks ago, and I was sitting in the church I had grown up in spiritually and was listening to my youth pastor (who is now the senior pastor) preach. He has been doing a series on Jesus, Community and Mission, and I'll admit, I haven't been following it. But it was almost as if that sermon was just for me. Not because it convicted me in any special kind of way, but because it touched my heart right where I was, all reverse-culture-shocked and trying to figure things out. This week was on Mission. To be honest any of those could have caught me right where I was, but this one was the perfect one-it must have been memorable and at least marginally good if I still remember it, almost two weeks later. The question that stuck with me is that in the title here: what does the Gospel cost? Now I will warn you, there's a good chance that this will be somewhat lengthy. I'll try to keep it short, but I'm not usually known for being short-winded.
The passage for this sermon was Colossians 1:24-29. If you'd like to hear the sermon, you can listen at http://wbcministries.com/media.php?pageID=19. This particular sermon was the one from June 24th. We went through and discussed suffering, and this question came up. What does the Gospel cost? I didn't catch it until tonight when I listened to the sermon again to refresh my brain, but Mark had told us three things that sharing the Gospel can cost us, but then at the end, he asked again, and invited the congregation to share how the Gospel can specifically cost our missional communities (our church's version of small groups, but with a missional twist, so to speak). And then several people shared.
Some of the key ways that came up were in money-it costs money to have people over for dinner, for example, time-you may spend more time with people than you had previously, your comfort zone-you may branch out to spend time with people who you aren't necessarily naturally drawn to, and possibly even your reputation-being with people who people might look down on you for being with and being in places people might look down on also (because, as Mark brought up, "that never happened to Jesus" haha).
I had an answer that day, fresh from the mission field, and still processing two years of mission and community, still discontented with so many things. But I didn't have the nerve to speak up. I can't give a good reason why, but I will say it was somewhat overwhelming to be in a church where I didn't need headphones to understand the sermon. No one who spoke up was wrong. Sharing the Gospel costs all these things.
But truly sharing the Gospel costs exactly what Jesus gave: ourselves. Living life for the Gospel, to share the Gospel with those who need it and want it, even though they don't know what it is, costs everything. It costs all you won, not just money but your material possessions are no longer yours. Yeah, you have them, but they mean next to nothing. And they should because God has only put them in your possession for a time. You have to be willing to leave it all behind to go to the next place. Ask my roommate Erica how much I left behind int he Czech Republic so I could come back and prepare to move to Atlanta. Sorry, Erica, I did fit all I needed, but I didn't fit it all :-)
It costs more than time. Your time is no longer your own. Someone may need you at 2 am. I don't have much experience with this. But maybe you were planning on doing some lesson planning, but someone wants to have someone to eat dinner with, or maybe someone is sick and instead of having them over, you make them something and take it to them. Your time is yours to plan, but then God says, "You know, you could love others and love me more in this moment by changing your plans and doing this instead."
This may sound weird, but it costs more than your comfort zone. Perhaps this is one area that I struggle the most to give up to God (or maybe it's easiest, I can't tell). But you have to be willing to constantly go outside your comfort zone and trust God with everything. Trusting that while you have no income, He will provide a way for your bills to be paid. Something which causes humility (oh, and that is costing you, too-it's costing you pride. You didn't do it on your own).
It costs more than your reputation. A Christian should not care at all what anyone things of them. This is such a dangerous thing to say. I care very much what people say about me-when what they say about me isn't true. But even in this case, that shouldn't matter. If you're doing what you know is right in the eyes of God, it shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks. It can be a fine line to walk, so remember that it's for the sake of the Gospel. (If you're doing things you shouldn't, it should matter what other people thing. And if they love you enough to tell you that they think what you're doing isn't right, you should be humble enough to listen).
Sharing the Gospel costs all of you-your emotions, your physical strength, your intelligence (and sometimes, it literally seems to cost you your intelligence... just ask someone who lives in a country which speaks a different language-you lose your own native language and forget words like tire and hat. trust me). It costs what you own (or what you think you own) and what you think. But the dividends are immeasurable. If I'm honest, I know exactly what it costs to share the Gospel. And if I'm more honest, I know I've fallen so short of giving up all of it. But even giving up a fraction for the sake of the Gospel has shown me that it's 100% worth everything it costs. To see God moving in ways you never thought possible is priceless. To see God changing you in ways you never thought possible is incredible. Answering young people who are asking you what you believe and why, and sharing life with friends who maybe never even gave the cross a second though. All of these things are what you miss out on when you miss that Christ doesn't just call you to follow him, but he tells his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me" (Matt 16:24, emphasis added by me). Jesus himself tells us that it costs us ourselves. I hope that over my next year with Mission Year, and after, that I will continue to learn exactly what this looks like and exactly how I can deny myself and take up my cross daily so that, like Paul, I rejoice in whatever ways I suffer for the Gospel for he sake of the Christian community.
