Nobody has to tell us that over the last year or two, the cost of goods and services has been increasingly rising.  Rising cost has affected everyone and is almost continually on the minds of people.  Due to a phenomenon we call inflation, we pay more for what we use and we usually get less for what we spend.

        “Words from Above” in the Bible tell us that this is one of the reasons why we shpuld not put our trust in what it calls “earthly treasures”.  It was Jesus who actually made this point in Matthew 6, a part of the Sermon on the Mount which He preached.  He specifically said, “Lay not up for yours-elves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break in and steal”.  In other words, earthly treasures are only temporary, and of course we cannot take them with us when our life on this earth has ended.

        Jesus goes on in Matthew 6 to say, Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth nor rust corrupt, and where thieves do not break in and steal them.”  The Jewish people of the day believed that they could lay up treasures in heaven by doing acts of kindness, showing love toward one another, and by living a life of obedience to the Lord.  Jesus likely agreed with this idea, because He concluded His thoughts on the subject by saying, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

        But there is another important idea that relates to cost in the Bible, and it relates to the cost of disobedience against God.  The apostle Paul says in Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death”, by which he means death to our soul.  Of course, it was Adam and Eve who were the first to disobey the Lord, and they brought spiritual death upon the entire human race by their disobedience.  But Paul went on to say in contrast that “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  The point is that God gave us His only Son to be born in human form, and to die for us on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins. 

This has been God’s greatest gift ever to the world, and the best news is that it is free for the asking.  It is free, however, only because Jesus paid the price by shedding His blood on the Cross and dying for us so that we do not need to die.  He says we should therefore glorify God in our body and in our spirit, since they really belong to God.

Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  For informa-tion, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.