Equal Installments

T

he year was 1987.  I had just returned from France and had started teaching in a local high school.  For the first time since college, I had a steady job and a steady paycheck.  That’s when it arrived.  I came home one afternoon to find a small package, wrapped in a small white envelope, addressed solely to me.  I checked the return mailing address and, although I recognized the name, I wasn't sure why I was receiving mail from this location.  As soon as I opened the envelope, however, I became painfully aware of the sender’s intent.

Inside were a letter and a booklet of coupons with my name and address printed on each one.  The letter informed me that the payment book for my college loan had arrived and that the first payment was due!  Furthermore, the letter instructed me to flip through the payment booklet to verify that my personal information was correct.  I quickly flipped through the coupons and, as luck would have it, all the information was correct.  That meant I could start making payments right away.  The lending company had even done the math for me, dividing my entire loan into 120 equal installments!  That’s 10 years for you math whizzes!!!

I stared at that payment book for what seemed like the longest time.  How in the world was I going to pay that back?  For the next 10 years of my life, a certain chunk of my paycheck belonged to a company hundreds of miles away.  After the shock wore off and reality set in, I shrugged my shoulders, took out my pen, wrote the check, sealed it and the payment coupon in an envelope, and sent them on their way.  For the next several years, I did the same thing, finally paying off the loan with help from my parents.

I’m sure that many of you reading this Tidbit can identify with the story above.  All of us, it seems, are making payments for one thing or another in our lives.  We are either purchasing a house, a car, or furniture, and we are making payments on a monthly basis.  Our payments are divided into equal installments and we make them an integral part of our budgets, making sure our money is used wisely so we can meet all our obligations.

Do you realize that God also works on the installment plan?  That’s right!  Now, I’m not saying that God is a mortgage broker or a lending institution.  He isn't!  However, the principle of making equal payments does apply to our spiritual lives.  Jesus addressed this in a conversation with his disciples concerning the cost of becoming one of his followers.  Luke 9:23 records Jesus’ words concerning the cost of discipleship. "Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Look very carefully at the fourth word from the end of Jesus’ statement.  Did you see it?  Did you take a good hard look at the word daily?  Yes, you read correctly.  He said daily! These are the terms Jesus set forth as a requirement for following him.  However, unlike a bank or savings and loan, Jesus doesn't want us to communicate with him monthly.  Instead, he wants us to relate to him on a daily basis.  He doesn't want just a part of our lives, he wants the whole thing!

Some people, even believers, think this is a high price to pay.  However, when it comes to buying a house or a car, they are willing to sign a contract obligating them for several years, or a lifetime, in order to buy something. Making payments becomes a way of life for them, and they diligently and faithfully meet this obligation.  If we will adjust our lives to purchase something that is not permanent, doesn't it make sense that we would also arrange our lives in order to gain that which is eternal?  God is not selling us anything.  Instead, He is offering us eternal life and, more importantly, a loving and daily relationship with Him.

So we must ask ourselves some hard questions.  How much of our lives is God getting?  As we spend our lives, do we remember to make our daily payment to God?  Do we spend time with Him by reading His word and praying?  Are we budgeting our time and resources in accordance with His will and commandments?  Are we willing to give God the payment due Him, namely, ourselves and to do this on a daily basis?  Are we living our lives on the daily installment plan, seeking God’s will and obeying Him?  Think about it, won’t you?  Have you made your payment today?