The process that brought me to Jesus in the first place goes on long after I have trusted Him as Savior. The difference is not in the nature of the decision, but in the nature of the thing sacrificed. When I yielded to the saviorship of Christ, I sacrificed my sins; now in my Christian walk I must keep sacrificing those things that keep me from being my best for Him. The “pearl of great price” makes this clear. The merchant sold his good things in order to obtain the best thing (Matthew 13:45-46).
I must learn to do business in my Christian life, to “exchange” things as Jesus did. “In exchange for the joy lying around Him, He endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2, author’s trans.). Jesus saw what was infinitely good and surrendered it for something infinitely better. Daily I will be confronted with a “good” that must be exchanged for a “better”; otherwise I invite spiritual stagnation. The discipline of decision making does not end the moment I accept Christ as my Savior. It is in this process of making decisions that God weans me more and more from what I am to what I was meant to be.
To be able to use that which is better I need insight and willpower. Insight tells me the difference between the “common” and the “holy” (Ezekiel 22:26); willpower commits me to it. Thus, my Christian life will always be a series of crises, both major and minor, that will seem very much like the crisis that brought me to Christ. I must forever accept the fact that both birth and growth are traumatic; yet the trauma leads to a burgeoning spiritual life that is positively thrilling! The “things … that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9) are for this life, not only the life to come, and they make the Christian adventure richer than any sight or sound experienced by the natural man.
“And Elijah came near to all the people and said, ‘How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him’” (1 Kings 18:21).
Daily with the King 