Redeemed at a Discount?

The Bible tells us that Jesus healed the physical blindness of people
in different ways: by touching their eyes; by using prayer and his
spittle; by allowing faith to heal; and by applying mud with a call to
action.  Jesus also encountered spiritual blindness, much of it in
religious circles. Perhaps this should encourage those of us who move
in such circles to have regular spiritual eye exams.
 
Just as He gave light to sightless eyes then, He cures spiritual
blindness now. But before one can receive sight, one has to be
convinced that they cannot see.  That's a tall order for someone like
me who was immersed in the church.
 
I confess that my regeneration seemed almost inconsequential at the
time.  I was a "good kid." I had no habits or addictions (that one
could see) and was seemingly untouched by temptations to such things.
I could probably trip on my Sunday School attendance pins (if I had
any).  I heard men testify of being saved from the depths of despair
and horrible circumstances and their testimony made me feel as if I
was redeemed at a discount.
 
The night God saved me, He impressed the verse on me that "no man can
serve two masters."  I wanted myself to be master but the truth is
that I had only two options, and self wasn't one of them. I could
serve God, who assured me that He had my best interests at heart, or I
could play into the devil's hands by thinking I was serving myself.  I
became convinced of the truth God presented me and yielded my life to
The Master.
 
I didn't feel like I needed salvation but God showed me how very wrong
I was, putting His finger on my attitude.  The sins that stained my
heart were hidden from human view under a vaneer of false goodness but
they were clearly seen by the Holy Spirit.  I was just as lost and
just as needy as anyone.  Jesus redeemed me at the same dear price as
he did for those who were saved from sin's addictive snares.
 
Self-righteousness is the fool's gold of Christianity.  It masquerades
as something valuable but is actually worthless. Behaving like a good
kid did not make me good at all. Only God's righteousness creates any
true value.
 
It seems as if feeling the need of rescue is even more difficult for
men these days. A fire-escape conversion doesn't motivate like it used
to.  If it isn't the idea that "I am somehow good enough," we have a
drive for self-reliance that keeps us from admitting that we can
choose only from two masters.  Whether we are churchified,
self-reliant, or entangled in a web of addictive sin, spiritual sight
and eternal life starts with recognizing our need and then yielding to
The Master who, after all, has only our best interests at heart.