What's Your Price?

Well, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I know I did.  I missed ya'll but it is good to be back.

This morning (www.lifejournal.cc) I was reading about Judas trading off Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Matthew 26:15 states it this way:  And (Judas) said, "What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?" And they paid him thirty pieces of silver.  I could not help but think this morning, how much money is that?  I have read that it is a small as $20 and as big as a common laborer's four month salary. Actually Exodus 21:32 gives us a good perspective as well.  It states: If the ox gores a slave, male or female, the owner shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.  Based upon that information, Judas got about what an owner of a slave would be compensated by the owner of an ox that gored of the slaves.   If 'pieces' (of Matt. 26:15) are 'shekels',  it would be worth about $300, based on silver today.  So let's go with that... Judas sold Jesus out for $300.  That does not make most car payments.  I spent that much on Black Friday in the maze of crazy, sleep deprived folk and I didn't get what I came for.   (I'll share that story later this week.)  Judas sold out Jesus for 3 Ben Franklins.

Now here is my question:  What's your price?  How much would it take for you to disclose the location of Christ so that the authorities could grab him, beat him, falsely accuse him, humiliate him, and then crucify Him? Some may be cold enough to say "a lot more than that" but if so, they need the Lord.  Most of you would say, "they could not pay me enough.  For no price would I hand my Lord over to be killed."    However, in a spiritual sense, you do it wwwaaaayyyy too often!!  Everytime we sin, we hand Him over again, because, regardless of how the death was arranged, Christ died to pay the cost of your sin and mine.  Every wayward word, thought, or act, we are selling Him out again.  Usually, for a lot less than $300.
Now...Christ paid the price so that we don't have to.  Salvation is the compensation that His death and resurrection provides.  We have all we need in Christ.  Let's stop looking to the world to be compensated (or to make us feel better) by having lives filled with words, thoughts, and acts that  bring reproach against Christ.
He paid the price and provides all we need.  Let's not look to the wiles of the world for anything else.  Let's just live to celebrate, praise, honor, and enjoy HIM!!