For The Ransomed Blood: No Charge.

Luke 22:39-46; Rom. 5:1-8; John15:1-17.

Some years past, I was traveling to Lagos from Port Harcourt
for Church conference and I got meditating about God‘s love and His goodness
toward mankind. I don’t know if you’ve ever felt that way yourself sometimes.

I was considering the thing I could ever do for
Him to justify what He did for me. I could not think of anything worthy to
compensate for the sacrifice of His life He gave for my salvation; ironically,
I continue to demand more from Him every day.

Every day we wake from sleep and continue demanding from God,
all the things we could even do ourselves to achieve. We sometimes go even the
extra mile threatening to stop our fellowship with God–as if He cares–if He
did not answer our prayers.

What about our salvation, the air we breathe, our sleep and
waking, our lives, the journey mercies He granted us, our health, and
everything he’s doing for us? Did He charge us for them?

I paused and looked to the sky and whispered, “I’m sorry,
Lord.”

I then remembered the lyrics of an old song, “No Charge,” by
Shirley Caesar. I immediately searched Google for the lyrics. It was so
refreshing and challenging; here‘ the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejDK6X3gtp4

A 70-year-old man testified of the goodness
of God. The man was sick and could not go to the toilet. In the hospital, they charged him a huge sum of money for them to operate him to remedy the situation.
The old man broke into tears. When they asked him why he was crying haven had a
successful operation.

The man replied that for 70 years of his life; he was freely
going to the toilet without God charging him a dime for it; yet for a one moment
operation, they asked him to pay so much.

I remembered what I was musing about God not charging us
anything for His wonderful work in our life, on the way to the conference–there was no charge for what Jesus Christ did for us–He bore it out of
love.

What did Jesus do? Luke 22:39-46; Rom. 5:1-8.

I started thinking about what Jesus did for me. You could get
detached from the sacrifice He made to set us free from sin condemnation–but
before doing so, could you for a moment reflect on what He felt like going to
the cross: the last moment of His physical life on earth; the Mount of Olive.

 The Disciples He depended upon as the closest of earthly friends He could get, cannot wait
with Him as he was reasoning with God, the father, "that if it be possible, let
the cup pass over me.”

There was no other intense moment of Jesus than this hour,
with the sweat coming out of His body like blood: I could feel the moment.

Could you imagine what would have happened to mankind if God
had shown an emotion at Jesus’ pain and suffering and spared Him from bearing
the Cup–but for that “purpose the Son of Man was made manifest that He might take
away the sin of the world.” There would have been no Salvation, yet No Charge.

Paul highlighted man’s relationship with God prior to that
sacrifice I the book of Roman 5: 1-8, “Therefore being justified by faith, we
have peace with God through Jesus Christ… For scarcely for a righteous man will
one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God
commends His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for
us.”

Meaning, hardly could any man willingly die for a good man–that would be a very brave man to do that- but to die for a sinner; that was
what Jesus did–yet no Charge.

Why Did Jesus Do That? John 15: 1-17.

Then, I asked him, “Jesus, Why did you die for a world that
does not know you, nor believes in you, nor cares about you?” Yes, He died for
the entire world; the world is not worth dying for–the people. “For as
many as believed in him, to them He gave the power to become the sons of God,” John
1:12, yet no charge.

To the believer, there is much more than being a child of
God. Jesus came to do the will of the father; to have a lineage of men that
will serve God.

All the children of God may not be friends to Him. A son may
become stubborn and reject the
administration of the father; but Jesus desired those sons that would be
faithful to Him, as he was to the Father, John 15:1-17: that’s the whole Charge–abides in Him, Obey Him and Do His Command–that looks un-substantiating-
but this - love one another.

As a servant, you must do what you’re asked to do.
But as a friend, you will do what your friend wants to do.

That’s all He’s requesting - that’s the whole Charge. Does that
seem too much for the life he gave? 
And yet there is no Charge!!!