A Radical Price To Pay
Luke 9:51-62
Illustration
by Larry Powell

A missionary preached in a remote, poverty ridden area in west Africa. He appealed for support of Christian work throughout the area and encouraged those present to give what they could toward the construction of a building which would serve as a medical clinic and a place of worship. Approximately two hours after the worship service, a young woman came to the missionary and presented him with $40 to be used for the building project. The missionary was stunned. Where on earth, he thought, did this woman come up with such a large sum of money in a region afflicted by painfully forbidding circumstances? Confounded, he posed this question as politely as he knew how. He was informed that she had gone to a wealthy planter and sold herself into his service for the rest of her life. Let us be clear about what I have just told you. She had sold herself into the service of a landowner. And why? This was her way of giving herself into the service of Jesus Christ. Not partially, but totally. That sounds like a radical price to pay doesn't it? However, if you think such a measure of commitment is radical, read again the words of our text and be impressed that the lifetime commitment is exactly what is called for. A lifetime of service. Call it anything you please, but do not call it less than it is; total commitment.

CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Blow the Silver Trumpet, by Larry Powell