Bought at a Price

I want to start out this post by thanking my friends James & Mandy, and their doggie, Bella, for this story. We recently had a BBQ at their house, and I met Bella for the first time. It was obvious that Bella adores James, yet James says that she is Mandy's dog. James proceeded to tell me the story of how they got Bella; he was working a lot and he didn't want Mandy to be lonely, so he bought Bella for her to keep her company. Yep. So Bella is "Mandy's dog," but for some reason, Bella adores James. Bella wants to snuggle with James. Bella wants to be with James. Bella wants to be near James. Bella gets excited when James comes home. Bella is sad when James leaves.
James just shakes his head, "I got her for Mandy, but she always wants to be with me!"
Why? I told James, "That's because she knows who bought her!" And that's why Bella loves James more than Mandy . . . she knows that HE chose and purchased her!

Reflecting On Refractions: Holy Spirit showed me this -- do we really understand Who has purchased us? Do we comprehend Who chose us? Do we understand the price that Jesus paid for us to be free and become a part of His family? I think that maybe we don't, because if we did, we would treat Him a whole lot differently than we do. If we did, we would act a whole lot differently than we do. Bella recognizes that James chose her and purchased her, so her loyalty, adoration and love belong to him (even though she's "Mandy's dog")! Her allegiance and devotion are evident; she is committed to and adores James, the one who brought her into their family. How much more should we be committed to, be loyal to, adore and want to be with our Lord Jesus who paid the price for us to be made in right standing with His Father? The one who chose us and purchased our salvation and freedom?

1 Corinthians 6:19b-20a says "You are not your own; you were bought at a price."

"You are not your own. . ." Think about that. . . . just like Bella belongs to James because he purchased her, we belong to the Lord, the King of Kings, because he purchased us! Likewise, if we truly, TRULY understand this, then we will live FOR God and not for ourselves. If we truly get this, we will wholeheartedly run after, adore, be loyal to, long to be with, and LOVE Jesus because we are so grateful for what He has done for us.

Because we are not our own -- I am not my own -- I belong to another -- I will die to mySELF, live for Him, be devoted to Him, not just on Sundays, but EVERYday! Jesus makes every decision for me because I am His, not my own. For many of us, this is difficult. Why is it that we can get out of bed bright and early to go to work or to go to the lake/beach for some fun, but we cannot get out of bed for a 10am church service? Why is it that we can find/make the time to watch a TV show or 2-hour movie, but when our Pastor calls asking for help to clean the church or help in some other way, we tell him that our schedule is just too full to commit to that? Could it be that we don't truly understand Whose we are, and that we don't comprehend the price that was paid for us? Could it be that we don't really get the fact that we are not our own? And so our devotion, love and loyaly lie elsewhere? By our actions and by our priorities, others should be able to determine Who bought us and Who we belong to . . . just like I could tell that Bella was purchased by and belonged to James . . . . Thanks, Bella, for the great example!