“PASTOR, WHAT WILL IT COST ME IF I GIVE MY HEART AND LIFE TO JESUS?”

The Answer Is Simple: Everything.

“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength… And… Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” — Mark 12:30–31

I was recently asked a question that, as best as I can remember, no one had ever asked me before.

“Pastor, what will it cost me if I give my heart and life to Jesus?”

I did not stop to calculate my answer.

I did not search for a softer response.

I did not try to make Christianity sound easier or more comfortable.

Without thinking, I immediately answered:

“Everything.”

The person looked at me with surprise and confusion.

I understood why.

We live in a world where we are accustomed to asking, “How much does it cost?” We want to know the price before we make the commitment. We compare what we are giving up with what we are receiving in return.

But when it comes to following Jesus Christ, He never advertised a discounted version of discipleship.

Jesus asks for everything.

Not because He wants to destroy your life.

Because He wants to become Lord of it.

GOD DOES NOT ASK FOR PART OF YOUR HEART

Jesus said:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with ALL thy heart…”

Not some of it.

Not most of it.

All of it.

Then He continued:

“…with ALL thy soul, and with ALL thy mind, and with ALL thy strength.”

Notice the repeated word:

ALL.

There is no room in those words for halfhearted Christianity.

There are no half-in, half-out Christians.

We cannot give Jesus Sunday morning while keeping Monday through Saturday for ourselves.

We cannot surrender our church life to Him while refusing to surrender our relationships.

We cannot give Him our prayers while withholding our finances.

We cannot give Him our worship while protecting secret sins.

We cannot call Him Lord and continually tell Him, “No.”

Jesus did not come simply to become another part of our lives.

He came to become Lord of our lives.

WHAT DOES “EVERYTHING” ACTUALLY MEAN?

Does following Christ mean everyone must sell everything they own, leave their family, quit their job, and walk away from society?

No.

But it does mean that nothing can remain beyond God's authority.

Your plans belong to Him.

Your dreams belong to Him.

Your money belongs to Him.

Your time belongs to Him.

Your relationships belong to Him.

Your talents belong to Him.

Your career belongs to Him.

Your habits belong to Him.

Your future belongs to Him.

Your body belongs to Him.

Your reputation belongs to Him.

Your ambitions belong to Him.

Even the parts of your life you would rather keep behind a locked door must eventually be opened to Him.

That is surrender.

It is saying:

“Lord, there is nothing in my life that You cannot touch.”

That is what “everything” means.

JESUS NEVER HID THE COST

Some presentations of Christianity make salvation sound like adding Jesus to an already crowded life.

But Jesus spoke differently.

He told people to follow Him.

He told them to deny themselves.

He told them to take up their cross.

He told them that anyone who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.

Christ never concealed the cost of discipleship.

Why should we?

We do people no favors when we present Christianity as a life requiring no surrender, no obedience, no sacrifice, and no transformation.

Yes, salvation is God's gift of grace.

We cannot purchase it. We cannot earn it. We cannot work our way into Heaven.

But the Christ who saves us also calls us to follow Him.

And following Him means relinquishing the throne of our lives.

THERE IS NO “HALFWAY” KINGDOM

This is where Christianity becomes uncomfortable for some people.

We want Jesus as Savior but hesitate to receive Him as Lord.

We want forgiveness without surrender.

Heaven without holiness.

Blessings without obedience.

Promises without responsibility.

A crown without a cross.

But Christianity was never designed to be lived with one foot in the Kingdom and the other in the world.

There is no spiritual neutral zone where we can permanently stand between the two.

Eventually, everyone must decide:

Who is Lord here?

Jesus?

Or me?

That question reaches far deeper than church attendance.

It reaches into our homes.

Our conversations.

Our entertainment.

Our relationships.

Our bank accounts.

Our private thoughts.

Our decisions when nobody else is watching.

Because surrender is not merely something we say at an altar.

Surrender is something we live.

BUT LOOK AT WHAT YOU RECEIVE

When I answered “Everything,” there was another side of the answer that needed to be understood.

Yes, following Jesus costs everything.

But look at what He gives in return.

You surrender your sin—and receive forgiveness.

You surrender your guilt—and receive grace.

You surrender your condemnation—and receive mercy.

You surrender your hopelessness—and receive hope.

You surrender your emptiness—and receive His presence.

You surrender your direction—and receive His guidance.

You surrender your brokenness—and place yourself into the hands of the One who restores.

You surrender a temporary life—and receive the promise of eternal life.

Suddenly, “everything” begins to look like a remarkable exchange.

We give Him what we could never keep forever anyway.

And He gives us what this world could never provide.

AND THEN JESUS SAYS, “LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR”

Mark 12 does not end with loving God.

Jesus immediately connects our love for God with our love for others:

“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

True surrender to Christ changes how we treat people.

The person beside us matters.

The hungry matter.

The lonely matter.

The forgotten matter.

The struggling family matters.

The child who needs help matters.

The stranger matters.

The person who hurt us matters.

The soul who does not yet know Jesus matters.

We cannot claim to love God with everything while refusing to love the people He created.

Our vertical relationship with God must eventually become visible in our horizontal relationships with others.

That is why ministry matters.

That is why missions matter.

That is why evangelism matters.

That is why compassion matters.

That is why helping one more person matters.

SO, PASTOR, WHAT WILL IT COST ME?

If someone asks me that question again, my answer will remain the same.

Everything.

But I might add one more sentence:

And Jesus Christ is worth everything.

The question is not merely:

“What will following Jesus cost me?”

Perhaps the greater question is:

“What will it cost me if I refuse to follow Him?”

Jesus Christ gave Himself completely for us.

How can we offer Him only the leftovers of our lives?

There are no half-in, half-out Christians.

There is no part-time lordship.

There is no halfway surrender.

The call of Jesus remains:

Follow Me.

So today, examine your heart.

Is there something you have withheld from God?

Is there a room in your life where the door remains locked?

Is there something you keep telling God He cannot have?

Open the door.

Lay it down.

Surrender it.

And pray:

“Lord Jesus, You gave Yourself for me. Today I give myself completely to You. My heart, my mind, my strength, my plans, my possessions, my future—everything I am and everything I have. Be not merely my Savior, but Lord of every area of my life. Teach me to love You with all that I am and to love my neighbor as myself. I surrender everything to You. In Jesus' name, Amen.”

ONE FINAL QUESTION

Someone asked me:

“Pastor, what will it cost me if I give my heart and life to Jesus?”

My answer was:

Everything.

Now the question belongs to you:

Is Jesus worth everything to you?

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Pilgrim Outreach Ministries International
Your Feet to the Nations

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