The Immeasurable Cost

In the cross of Christ I glory, Towering o’er the wrecks of time; All the light of sacred story Gathers round its head sublime. These lyrics belong to the beautiful song “In the Cross of Christ I Glory.”* The song looped through my mind as I prepared this devotional entry. Every one of us has a story. Our decisions primarily shape our story—decisions such as what we want and how we will work to make it happen, the decision not to listen to spiritual counsel, and deciding that our bodies are our own and not treating them as the “temple of God” (1 Corinthians 3:16, NKJV). These are a few examples of some bad decisions we may make.

Experiencing the immediate and long-term consequences of bad decision-making often leads to bouts of mental anguish and troubled times.

A powerful antidote to bad decision-making is learning to forgive. Receiving God’s forgiveness, forgiving myself, and forgiving others are crucial to recovery.

When we pray this simple prayer, “Father in heaven, teach me to pray,” the breakthrough begins. His Word teaches us how to pray. Here are three things I have found helpful: First, never make God a lesser priority. He must be our number one.

Second, we should be humble and recognize how blessed we are.

We have so much when we could easily have so much less. And third, be grateful and remember the times we have had less. Prayer is a lifestyle.

Let us not use it merely as an emergency contact.

God wants us to experience so much more than living from emergency to emergency. Make no mistake about the cost of Calvary, where salvation was freely given, the love of God manifested itself, and our loving Jesus died so we may be forgiven.

If we are faithful, we will soon live with Him eternally in glory.

My friends, what a cost! There is no greater love!

Edna Thomas Taylor

* John Bowring, “In the Cross of Christ I Glory,” 1825, public domain.