Have you ever considered how costly a free gift can be? Here is a common illustration of that. How often is it that we have the opportunity to receive a “free” pet? There is no purchase price, but the cost of maintenance can be quite steep. There is the cost of food, shots, cages, and additional care. Then there is often the cost of damages that are cause by the pet. Yes he was free, but it has caused a great change in your life.
Salvation is a lot like that, consider these words of the Savior:
Luke 14:25-26 (KJV)
And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
This is just a short portion of a larger text where Christ lays down the high cost of discipleship. He will go on to encourage those who are interested in following Him to consider carefully the cost of that choice.
There seems to be an absence of this matter in much of evangelical preaching these days. However Christ practiced what we may call full disclosure. I wonder if we at times are so eager to win converts that we are not really honest regarding the cost. It really is a costly matter to follow Christ.
