“Whatever the Cost” : 3 Words that Make Me Think
Do you ever stop to think about the words you sing as you worship? Since we are supposed to “…sing with the spirit…and with the understanding…” (1 Cor. 14:15), it seems to me that this would be an advisable thing to do.
At times, this is also a sobering thing to do. In fact, it could be downright challenging.
I love the song, “I Believe in a Hill Called Mount Calvary.” I especially like the sentiment expressed in these words:
“And when time has surrendered and earth is no more,
I’ll still cling to the old rugged cross.”
However, there are some lyrics right before those words that challenge me. If I’m really engaged in worship as I should be, I need to do some really serious self-examination before I sing,
“I believe in a hill called Mount Calvary.
I’ll believe whatever the cost.”
Each time I sing those words, I do a little self-interrogation. I ask myself if I really mean it when I, in essence, declare my loyalty to Jesus and the sacrifice He made whatever the cost.
While I always have the depth of my loyalty to the Lord on my mind, I think I’ve been considering that even more frequently than is usually the case lately for a couple of reasons. One of those reasons has to do with the calendar. I’m approaching (all too rapidly) another birthday. Each one of those makes me increasingly aware of the fact that the vast majority of my time on earth is already in the past. That, in turn, helps to make me increasingly aware of the fact that the One who is now my Savior will be my judge “on that last, great day.”
The other reason that those three words in that song are so challenging to me has to do with a class that I am currently helping to teach. We are involved in a study of what some refer to as “church history.” My preparation for that class has reminded me of people who, throughout history (including our present time) have suffered severely for no other reason than their loyalty to Jesus.
I have read (again) accounts of people who lost their homes, all of their material possessions, and all social connections (including their families) just because they had committed the “crime” of being Christians. I have also been reminded of those who gave up much more than those things. I have been reminded of the gruesome ways by which some of these people have lost (and continue to lose) their lives because they would not renounce their faith in the Lord.
I do not personally know anybody who has had to give his or her life because of “the old rugged cross,” but I do know people who have had to make some very serious and challenging decisions. They may have realized that, in order to please the Lord, they could no longer continue in a career they had chosen, prepared for, and in which they made some significant advancements. They may have had to give up lifelong friends and/or choices of entertainment. They may have realized that their loyalty to Jesus needed to affect how their time is spent and that, for one example, the Lord’s day is not “their day.” They may even lose the affection and association with members of their family because of the antagonism exhibited by some of those people to anybody who is committed to serving the Lord.
These are just a few of these things that keep me from just mouthing the words, “I’ll believe whatever the cost.” All of what I’m thinking when I sing those words can actually be summed up in one word:
Really?
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AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
