Have you ever had to compromise with someone? Perhaps it was a spat as simple as “to-ma-to” vs. “to-mah-to”…sounds silly, right? But its true…many times our compromises are that trivial…we sometimes just compromise our views to keep the peace with a friend, loved one, or even a spouse. What if our Saviour had compromised…what if he he fasted 30 days instead of 40, and compromised his sacrifice? What if he had opted to have God call him from the cross, without being the ultimate sacrifice for our sins…our salvation would’ve been caught in a compromise. What if he had bartered with the blind, lame, the deaf, and the possessed? What if he compromised the gift of healing by putting stipulations on the recipient? What if… And yet, we don’t seem to find one problem with compromising our belief system. We make conscious choices, sometimes on a daily basis, to “give in”, where we would’ve once stood strong, firmly on our faith, and holding to what we know in our hearts to be right, and obedient. But I don’t see that same fervancy these days. I see so many of us who have been raised under the fundamentals of that “olde time religion” and some have traded our once upon a time experience for the “liberty” of a new walk, without the standards that once kept us living that separate life. No, we aren’t called to live in caves, without modern conveniences. God hasn’t un-necessarily applied “terms and conditions” that would cause us hardship, but he has given us a sort-of blueprint to live by (and let me interject…just because its not a “heaven or hell issue” doesn’t mean that its not good for us to apply to our lives). I just don’t understand how there is more to spiritually explore outside the boundaries of standards and convictions…what could you possibly find when all that you will ever need is within the perimeters the shepherd has laid out for you? Why must you wander outside the fold … it makes me curious if what we once perceived as “having the goods” was nothing more than a superficial experience that felt wonderful in the moment, and now that the new has worn off, you’re left COMPROMISING instead of wanting to SACRIFICE. Nothing comes easy without true sacrifice. Think of our veterans who have fought for our freedoms…fought for the very land that we call home. They didn’t leave on a joytrip, when war after war called their name(s). They weren’t vacationing during Vietnam or Desert Storm…they were sacrificing because they didn’t want to compromise our homeland, by sitting back and watching the enemy tear apart what wasn’t his to begin with. And so in the same essence, I remind you, that you are not the property of the enemy. You have already been purchased by a price more precious than you could ever imagine or put a value on. So why do you compromise that truly amazing and generous gift of life eternal for a few “feel good” things on earth? Why does sacrificing things of the flesh and of this world seem too hard a task – has Heaven become a compromise? What if those enticements that seem “innocent enough” stand between you and eternity? Will you say then that the compromise was worth more than the sacrifice? As for me and my house, I would rather live in moderation, doing my best to keep my life holy and acceptable (not perfect by any stretch of the imagination…thus the scripture speaks of having to die daily)…sure there are times that I say “does this really matter”…but then the small voice of conviction speaks LOUD and clear and says “but what if it does”. you see, its the little things that creep in, innocent enough at first, but then things take root, they grow into bigger issues, and we find that it all becomes justifiable and before you know it, our life is overgrown by things that should’ve never been given the opportunity to take root and grow as apart of our lives. I know that I for one have a lot of weeding to do, because I don’t want to sell my eternity for something that could in no way compare to true sacrifice for the One who sacrificed so much for me.
