In his book Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller wrote;
“My friend Andrew the protester believes things. Andrew goes to protests where he gets pepper-sprayed, and he does it because he believes in being a voice of change. My Republican friends get frustrated when I paint Andrew as a hero, but I like Andrew because he actually believes things that cost him something. Even if I disagree with Andrew, I love that he is willing to sacrifice for what he believes….Andrew is the one that taught me that what I believe is not what I say I believe; what I believe is what I do.”
When you go beyond belief to conviction in Christ, it costs something. It costs comfort, responsibility, discipline and popularity. It costs being different than the rest of the world, walking to the beat of a different drum, filtering life through the eyes of Jesus rather than the eyes of the world. It takes worshiping Christ in our every day life not just being comfortable with the idea that if I die Christ has paid the premium on my fire insurance.
 
 The apostle Paul wrote, “ For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.  (Phil. 1:21)

If you really believe, if you go beyond belief to lifestyle, Christ will provide; the power, the courage, the comfort, the change, the counsel, the energy, and the love to give away that will change the lives of others. The apostle Paul is saying, “Look, I am living for Christ, and as long as I am living for Him, it is a full life. 

Jesus promised that if you live for Him it will be a full life. (John 10:10)  Paul knows that when he is finished with this life of sacrifice then he will really be living in the next life.

People look at most Christians and because our faith does not seem to make much of a difference in our lives, they are not interested.

When I had a counseling practice I had a policy that I would not see a client who did not pay for his own therapy. I learned that the hard way. I had a couple of churches that wanted to pick up the tab for their members that could not afford it. I found out in a hurry that when clients did not have to make some kind of financial sacrifice, they would not work. They would miss appointments, they would not complete assignments, and most would make little or no progress toward emotional and spiritual health. 

I discovered that many people are not willing to work for something if it is free.  An, of course, if they did not work they did not change.

Maybe if a Chritian is going to go from belief to conviction, and live what he says he believes, he is going to have to realize that his salvation is not free. The price of salvation is high and Jesus Christ paid it for us.

When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? (Rom. 12:1)

Question:  Why do you think most Christian are not willing to live the sacrificial life?  Is it because they really don’t believe or is there a lack of motivation because their salvation is a free gift?  What else could it be?