“Will I have enough?” was the thought that filled my mind and made my pulse quicken.  The checkout line was long—enough to give me time to worry.  I had saved & saved, like forever it seemed, and when mom said we were ‘going to town,’ I ran to my bedroom and stuffed my life savings ($4.78) into my pocket.  Yes, I wanted to go to town, to go shopping, and the department store Roses had JUST WHAT I DESIRED—caps for my cap gun!

• We arrived at the store parking lot, climbed out of the car, and walked through the front doors of the store.  Mom gave us our warning (the 1978 warning)—”You have one hour to shop.  Meet me here at the front of the store, and don’t be late.”  Fear of abduction was not the fear of that day.  Those words we fear in this 21^st Century world did not exist, only the fear of arriving late.

So, mom took my little sister and placed her in the shopping cart.  My older sister probably headed somewhere boring (like the make-up aisle) while my younger brother and I half-ran to the important TOY department where my beloved, much improved “caps for my cap gun” existed.

• We arrived to the aisle with fifty-six minutes remaining of our precious hour.  There was plenty of time to browse before I carried my chosen object to the cashier & pay.  In 1978, we did not have cellular devices in our pockets to warn us of our time running low; no, we had wristwatches and clocks on the interior walls.  Ron looked at those toys while I looked at my chosen ones.  We had the freedom of time to ‘explore & wish.’  Life was so grand for my twelve-year-old self.

What is the cost of discipleship?

• What does it mean when we say:  “I am a child of God.”
• What are we willing to give up to become a child of the KING of kings?
• How can we ever ‘pay’ for that which we could NEVER AFFORD—the COST of our SALVATION?

Exclusivity is 100% truth within the family of God!

• We cannot live with one foot in the world while the other foot rests in heaven.
• We cannot have this life and eternity with God too.
• We must choose exactly WHO IS MASTER OF OUR LIFE!

God’s love—

• Pursues us!
• Covers the multitude of our sins!
• Saves our souls for all eternity!
• Redeems us when the Son of God paid the ultimate cost!
• Changes us completely from inside out!
• Transforms our lives!
• Forevermore seals us within His pledge & His promise!

Makes us able to stand & say aloud in this world:  “I am a child of God!”

That day (way back in 1978) when time was running short, when I knew I just might arrive LATE at the storefront, I yelled to my younger brother, “Let’s go or mom will be mad.”  Ron was penniless that day, so he left the toy aisle emptyhanded, but in my hands rested the precious ringed caps for my shiny cap gun.  (To be sure, I knew I would share when Ron and I played ‘cops and robbers’ as we always did.)  However, today, we needed to hurry because as a child, I just did not know how long this ‘check-out, pay line’ would take.

• I remember that line.
• I remember my fear.
• I remember my thoughts.

“Will I have enough?  Will my $4.78 cover the cost?  What will I do if I do not have enough?  Mortified!  That’s exactly what I would feel (even though back then, my twelve-year-old head did not even know the meaning of that word).

Soon, it was my time to lay my chosen object on the moving check-out where the salesclerk stood.  I dug into my right-side, jeans pocket and pulled out the crumpled dollar bills and precious coins I had saved.

“That will be @5.04,” the lady said as she began to straighten my three one dollar bills and count out my coins there in a pile in front of her.

$5.04!

• I only had $4.78!

I knew before she counted that I would not have enough; yet I began to pray. “Lord, help it magically BE ENOUGH.”

“Honey, you only have $4.78.  Do you have any more money to pay the rest of the cost?” she asked as I began to feel the sickening feeling deep in the pit of my stomach.

• I knew the truth!
• I knew I did not—have enough!
• I knew it would NEVER BE ENOUGH!

Today, at age fifty-seven, I remember with clarity EXACTLY how I felt when I realized that I could never afford that which I so much wanted to BUY!

• How can we ever ‘pay’ for that which we could NEVER AFFORD—the COST of our SALVATION?

• Every person has a choice!

We can pretend THIS life is enough—OR—We can accept God’s Amazing Grace!

• Every person will face God’s judgment one day!

We can either hope we have done enough good while we lived—OR—We can place our HOPE in the SON of GOD WHO PAID WITH HIS PRECIOUS BLOOD ON THE CROSS of CALVARY!

The TRUTH of GOD will always be THE TRUTH OF GOD!

A child of God totally understands the ULTIMATE PRICE JESUS PAID!

A child of God must walk through this world—

• Walking within a ‘changed’ lifestyle.
• Walking in loneliness & in the criticism of others.
• Walking with God through the messiness found within this dark world.
• Walking hand-in-hand with Jesus in daily discipleship.
• Walking in obedience, even when the pressures of society scream, “You must accept & conform.”
• Walking in thankfulness to Almighty God who sent His Only Son to pay the ultimate price necessary to cover the multitude of our sins.

A child of God REALIZES THAT HE COULD NEVER AFFORD THE COST, BUT JESUS DID!

A child of God MUST SHOUT GOD’S SAVING GRACE FROM THE MOUNTAINTOPS & SING OF GOD IN THE LOWEST OF VALLEYS.

&

OFTENTIMES, IN THIS LIFE, A CHILD OF GOD WILL FACE LIFE-SITUATIONS WHERE HE IS CALLED TO REMEMBER THE WORDS OF OUR SAVIOR.