Bargain

We are in the process of buying a house. And the first step-- after you find one you like ;) -- is to make an offer. I don't enjoy this part of the process. There are too many details, and with many of the houses we've looked at, Shorty and I don't think they are worth the list price. So you begin the bargaining process. It's not like we are looking for a "steal", but we know what we want and need, and also how much money we have available. We want the best deal for our money.

But as I thought about this earlier, I was struck by my own tendency to try to bargain with God. "I know what you tell me to do, Lord, but..." And the excuses begin to flow. Or, "Can't I just [this] instead of [that]?" Here's the problem. It's one thing to put a dollar amount on a piece of real estate. To offer a seller less than asking price. But God offers salvation-- which cost the Son His LIFE-- and He demands the entirety of our lives in return. At first this may seem like a fair deal: A life for a life. But Jesus is God the Son, the infinite Word become flesh, and He is infinitely valuable. And while people are God's image bearers, our value is infinitely lesser than that of our Maker. So when I try to bargain with God, I am saying that Christ is not as valuable as me. And that is ABSURD!!! We don't pay royalties to books, we pay them to authors. The "Windows" empire is not credited to computers, but to Bill Gates. And as famous as the Mona Lisa is, Michelangelo is far more so.

I want the infinite value of Christ to be real to me. And I want others to see His value too. So I want to be a faithful and obedient servant. No more bargains...

It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,
Deuteronomy 7:7-9
 
And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
1 Peter 1:17-19
 
But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
Hebrews 9:11-12
 
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2
 
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Psalms 19:14