Shepherding: Pay the Price

“But the king said to Araunah, No; but I will surely buy it from you for a price, and I will not offer to Jehovah my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. And there David built an altar to Jehovah, and he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And Jehovah responded to the entreaty for the land, and the plague was stayed in Israel.” (2 Samuel 24:24-25, RecVer)

“But King David said to Ornan, No; but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for Jehovah and offer up burnt offerings that cost me nothing.So David gave to Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the site. And there David built an altar to Jehovah, and he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called on Jehovah, and He answered him with fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering.” (1 Chronicles 21:24-26, RecVer)

The above two verses show the attitude of David in paying the price for offering to Jehovah. He emphatically said, "I will surely buy it from you for a price, and I will not offer to Jehovah my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." This is a good pattern for all believers to follow. Not to take the things of God for granted and always pay the price for anything that is worthwhile.

In this matter, the Lord has been teaching me to do the same. Whenever I want to do something for the Lord, I must not do it in a light way. Even in my shepherding, I must pay the price to take care of the new ones. The price involves time, money, energy, and sacrifices here and there. In a very practical way, whenever I shepherd new ones I also gifted relevant ministry books for them to read. As a serving one in the literature service, I have easy access to all the ministry books, including the printed ministry materials.  But I always pay the price to buy books and gift them to the new ones. I would not take it freely that costs me nothing and give it to others freely that costs them nothing. I would rather pay the price and give it to the new ones so that they will also pay the price in reading and being shepherded by the ministry books. Free things often have no value at all.

The past few weeks I have gifted five different people some selected ministry books. A New Testament, Recovery Version for a new one who visited me on his birthday. What better gift can I give other than the Bible? As he came along with his friend, I also gifted his friend a copy of the Shepherding Materials and to him a copy as well. In addition to the gospel I preached to them with a brother, I gifted the ministry books as a follow-up and also as seeds sown into them.

Similarly, when a Christian brother visited me for the first time, I made sure that he also receive the ministry books. So I gifted to him a set of Life lessons and Shepherding Materials. Though I ministered something, I trusted in the written word too as backup support to whatever I have ministered to him. The same thing I did to a new brother who was baptized. 

To a family who has been serving the Lord for many years in Gurugram and with whom I have been in fellowship for about a year now, I felt the burden from the Lord to start a home meeting where we can pursue the ministry books on the truth concerning oneness. Therefore, I gifted to the brother and his wife, a copy of The Genuine Ground of Oneness in Hindi and English. The burden the Lord gave me for them was on ministering the truth concerning oneness among the children of God and recovering them into the practical reality of being one and meeting as one Body in the city of Gurugram. This book helped me a lot in 2003 and shepherded me into the practical meeting with the saints standing on the local ground of oneness in Chennai. Therefore, I deemed it best to use the same book to help others who may need the help as I needed some twenty years ago.

All these gifts, I believe, the Lord will bless them and make them as seeds that will sprout in their inner being and grow to gain them for the Lord's interest one day. Definitely, when a seed is sown there is the hope of harvest one day. With such divine hope, I keep sowing where and whenever there is an open door.

I believe in the same principle recorded in the Bible, to pay the price for what is precious. Lest I turn the precious into worthless and ended up throwing pearls to hogs. Therefore, in shepherding, always pay the price and do not offer anything that costs nothing.