May 30 I Sunday

2 Chronicles 10-12

John 11:30-57

“Therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.”  —Luke 14:33, ESV

Three decades ago, I conducted an evangelistic week at a college in Britain. On the third night, a student said to me, “I’m not a Christian, but a lot of people were coming to this meeting and some even became Christians. I find it strange that intelligent students would become Christians in this day and age.”

       The student continued, “You had a band play music, then, you got up. You told a funny story, but fifteen minutes in, I had a strange feeling; I felt as though I was the only person in the room and you were speaking directly at me. How did you do that?” I answered, “I think the reason you felt no one else in the room was because God was speaking directly to your heart and mind.” 

       We talked for a while. The student inquired, “What does it mean to become a Christian? How do you become a Christian?” I answered, “It means that Jesus Christ comes as Lord and King to live within you and takes charge of your life.” The student commented, “That sounds pretty costly.” I responded, “It is. Jesus warned that we needed to count the cost.” Our conversation ended with the student saying, “I’m going to think about this, and come back tomorrow.” But he did not show up. The night after that, he came and said, “I’ve been thinking about what you shared and I’ve decided I don’t want to become a Christian. It’s too costly.” 

       I told him, “We talked about the cost of becoming a Christian the other night, but there’s something I didn’t tell you. There is a cost of not becoming a Christian.” He asked, “What do you mean?” I replied, “If you don’t become a Christian, it means you’ll never discover the reason why you exist. You’ll never have the power to live the kind of life that you ought to live, and at the end—I’m sorry to tell you this—you’ll go to hell.” He asked, “Do you believe that?” I said, “I do, because that is what the Scripture teaches and that is why being a Christian and receiving Christ into your life is so essential.” He said, “It’s costly to become a Christian and it’s costly not to become one. I’m not sure what I’ll do.” After a while, he decided, “If what you say is true, and I’m not sure if it is true yet, but if it’s true, I’m going to say to God, ‘You can have my life’ and we’ll see what happens.” The student I spoke to now serves in full-time ministry. 

       We each face a costly decision: will we give everything to Christ or lose everything to hell?

Prayer: Dear Jesus Christ, I choose to be a Christian. I surrender my all to You. Come and be the Lord and King of my life. Thank You, Jesus!