Love That Costs: Shall We Offer What Costs Us Nothing?

Offering God a Love That Actually Costs

I've got a question that's been burning deep in my spirit, weighing heavily on my heart and convicting me: am I offering the Lord something that costs me nothing, some cheap and easy sacrifice that requires no real effort or commitment on my part? That piercing line from King David in 2 Samuel 24:24 in the King James Version has been reading me lately, searching my heart and exposing my motivations. This isn't mere theory or abstract theology for me — this is deeply personal and intensely practical. I've been on my knees in prayer, earnestly asking God to take things away from my life — destructive cravings that pull me away from Him, ingrained habits that have taken root over years, convenient shortcuts that compromise my walk with Him — and sometimes, in His sovereign grace and mercy, He does it instantly, miraculously removing the burden in a single moment. Other times, in His infinite wisdom, He hands me a cross to carry and walks faithfully with me through the refining fire of the process, step by difficult step. Both responses, the instant deliverance and the long journey, are expressions of His perfect love.

A Father Who Paid Full Price

The gospel is not a discount coupon or a bargain-basement deal; it is a cross, a place of ultimate sacrifice and unfathomable cost. The apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 5:8 (KJV), "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." The Father in heaven did not hesitate or blink at the enormous cost required to redeem humanity. Consider the patriarch Abraham, who lifted the knife over his beloved son Isaac in obedience to God's command, and at the last moment God intervened and stayed his hand, providing a ram in the thicket. But when we arrive at Calvary, at that hill outside Jerusalem where Jesus hung between heaven and earth, the Father did not stay His hand. He allowed His only begotten Son to be bruised, pierced, and crushed for our iniquities. That is love that pays the full retail price—love that holds nothing back, love that spares no expense. If that is the manner in which heaven has loved me, poured out everything for my redemption, then how can I possibly turn around and offer back to God mere pocket change, leftover scraps, or sacrifices that cost me nothing at all?

When Jesus Becomes First… For Real

Jesus said if we love our father, mother, son, or daughter more than Him, we're not worthy of Him (Matthew 10:37 KJV). That verse used to frighten me and make me uncomfortable until I finally realized and understood that it isn't Jesus devaluing family or diminishing the importance of our earthly relationships; rather, it's Jesus establishing and enthroning Himself as the supreme Lord and ultimate authority over every area of our lives. When He's genuinely first in our hearts and priorities, when He truly occupies that throne in our lives, then everything else—our family relationships, our work, our dreams, our daily decisions—finally and beautifully finds its proper place in the divine order that God intended. Obedience to Him stops feeling like painful loss or burdensome sacrifice and starts feeling like genuine freedom, like the liberation it was always meant to be.

Microwaves, Miracles, and the Long Walk of Repentance

I've begged God for the microwave version, the instant solution, the quick fix that requires no effort or time on my part. "Lord, just wave Your hand like Naaman the Syrian commander expected when he came to Elisha seeking healing" (2 Kings 5). Naaman wanted a grand gesture, a spectacular show of power, but instead he was told to go dip himself seven times in the Jordan River—a simple, humble, repetitive act of obedience. But the Bible is clear and explicit in teaching us that God gives repentance as a gift, then we acknowledge and confess the truth of our condition, and then—and only then—we recover ourselves out of the snare of the enemy (2 Timothy 2:25–26 KJV). The process is often gradual, intentional, and requires our active participation. Sometimes breakthrough looks like a daily walk with the Good Shepherd, a step-by-step journey of trust and obedience, not a magic wand that instantly transforms everything in a single moment. The apostle Paul prayed three times, earnestly and fervently, asking God to remove his thorn in the flesh, and what he heard back from heaven was not what he expected: "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9 KJV). Weakness became the stage, the platform, the very arena for God's strength to be displayed in all its glory. I've lived that reality. I've walked through seasons where I felt utterly insufficient, completely inadequate, and entirely dependent on Him. In my weakness, when I have nothing left to offer, He shines brightest, and His power is made manifest in ways I could never accomplish in my own strength.

Fasting: A Love That Feels Like Hunger

There are certain spiritual mountains, certain insurmountable obstacles and seemingly impossible situations, that only move and shift "by prayer and fasting" (Mark 9:29 KJV). Fasting is the sacred discipline through which my physical body begins to learn, understand, and internalize what my spirit already knows deep within: Jesus is bread enough, He is sufficient, He is all I truly need to sustain me. When I deliberately and intentionally push away the plate, when I say no to physical food and earthly satisfaction, I'm not punishing myself or practicing some form of self-inflicted misery — rather, I'm intentionally making room, creating space in my life for more of Him, clearing out the clutter so that I can hear His voice more clearly and feel His presence more intimately. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6 KJV). The physical hunger pangs I experience during a fast become a spiritual love song, a constant reminder throughout the day that I am choosing to hunger for Him above all else, that I am thirsting for His righteousness more than I desire earthly comfort or temporary satisfaction.

Little Altars, Every Day

David could have accepted the free ox and the free threshing floor that were offered to him, but he refused and insisted on paying the full price anyway — and as a result of his costly sacrifice, the devastating plague that had been ravaging the people came to an abrupt stop (2 Samuel 24). That story carries a powerful message and profound truth that resonates deeply with me. Every single time I make the deliberate decision to delete the app that causes me to stumble and trip me up spiritually, every time I humbly confess the half-truth or white lie I told when I could have easily kept it hidden, or every time I intentionally get up early in the morning to meet with God when I could have stayed in bed and slept in, I'm essentially buying that threshing floor all over again in my own life. I'm building little altars of sacrifice, small monuments of obedience, every single day of my walk with Christ. That's precisely what the apostle Paul is referring to in Romans 12:1 when he calls us to present our bodies as a "living sacrifice" — not a one-time grand gesture, but an ongoing, daily, continuous offering to the Lord. It happens breath by breath, moment by moment. It unfolds choice by choice, decision by decision, as we navigate the countless small opportunities to honor God that present themselves throughout our day.

Your Fire Might Free Somebody Else

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down or negotiate with the idols that the king had erected; instead, they made the courageous decision to walk directly into the fiery furnace, trusting God completely — and as a result of their unwavering faithfulness and bold obedience, an entire nation, including King Nebuchadnezzar himself, witnessed the Fourth Man walking with them in the midst of the flames (Daniel 3). Sometimes the obedience and sacrifice that God is calling you to walk out isn't solely about your own personal journey or individual spiritual growth. Your children, your spouse, your church family, your neighbors, your community, and your town may all be quietly watching, observing closely as you make the deliberate choice to follow Jesus even when that decision comes with a significant cost, even when it requires real sacrifice, even when it means standing alone. Testimony is powerfully contagious and spreads like holy fire from one heart to another. #TeamJesus

Let’s Get Practical

Here's what I'm personally committing to do this week, and I want to invite you to walk this journey alongside me and join me in these specific, practical steps of obedience.

• Ask Jesus, “What’s one thing You want me to lay down right now?” Write it. Obey it the same day.
• Fast one meal and pray for clarity about your “one thing.” Listen with an open Bible.
• Remove a provision for the flesh. Replace it with a Scripture habit. Example: delete the trigger and memorize Romans 13:14.
• Make it right where your choices hurt others. Repent, reconcile, and move forward.
• Daily prayer: “Lord Jesus, I choose the costly yes. Teach me to love You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.”

Scriptures To Camp In (KJV)

2 Samuel 24:10–25. Romans 12:1–2. Matthew 10:34–39. Luke 9:23–26. 2 Timothy 2:25–26. 2 Corinthians 12:7–10. Daniel 3. Psalm 23. 2 Chronicles 7:14.

Friend, cheap religion won’t carry a cross. But when love costs us something, grace meets us there. Let’s buy the threshing floor together — and watch God heal the land.

Dig deeper, go higher.