jimbosrealm.net

One of the books I am reading through right now (as noted by my slick currently reading widget) is Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship.  It has been a rewarding read thus far. 

In the opening chapter, Bonhoeffer describes the difference between cheap grace and costly grace.  He defines cheap grace –

Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner.  Grace alone does everything, they say, and so everything can remain as before.  “All for sin could not atone.”  The world goes on in the same old way, and we are still sinners “even in the best life” as Luther said. 

Bonhoeffer goes on and defines costly grace -

Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for,the door at which a man must knock.

Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.

In America and other parts of the Western World, we live in an age of consumerism, a “me first” prevailing attitude. We feel entitled to things. A common thought is “I did this so I deserve that . . .”. This is a very dangerous attitude for Christians to have, because it tempts us to carry this attitude into church and our relationship with God. It makes us self-centered and we start saying things to the effect of, “God, I have been praying, reading your word, attending church, now give me ________, I deserve it.” It becomes a legalistic cause and effect relationship. This is exactly what cheap grace is, accepting belief in Jesus, yet refusing to change ourselves into His likeness. We seek to exploit the blessings God gives us and pout when we don’t get what we want. We are seeking things on our terms, but fail to realize God is so much bigger than us.

This is where sacrifice comes in.  Sacrifice is a word I have cringed at, and many Christians likewise.  Sacrifice means pain and suffering on some level.  I used to think sacrifice was something that Christ did for us so we wouldn’t have to.  What I have learned in my last two years in Bolivia is quite the opposite.  We sacrifice ourselves – giving up OUR dreams, OUR plans, OUR possessions, OUR comforts in order to follow Jesus and let Him change us.  We give up this mentality that “I know what’s best for me” and exchange it for “God you know what’s best for me”.   Sacrifice is what Bonhoeffer means by “costly”.   Sacrifice is not giving up things that don’t matter, that’s not sacrifice, that’s prioritizing.  Sacrifice is giving up things that DO matter, that ARE important to us and letting God take charge.   Jesus’ disciples left behind families, jobs, wealth, and other things to follow him.  But having made sacrifices in my own life to follow Jesus, I have been a witness to His work and His glory in ways I could never have planned, imagined or hoped to have seen in my own comfort zone.  It has been much more rewarding than my own plans would have been.  We of course cannot do this perfectly though and that is why Bonhoeffer calls this “costly grace”.  God knows we can’t do this 100%, that is the grace.  But he commands us to try and works in our lives to wrestle away the things we hold above Him.

Are you practicing cheap grace or costly grace in your life?     

For we are not peddlers of God’s word like so many; but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.

- 2 Corinthians 2:17

This scriptural quote appeared this morning in my verse of the day email that I receive from Sojourners.  As I was reflecting on it, I realized in this day it is an extremely important verse to remember.  How often do we see people seeking to profit from the Bible, or seeking personal/political agendas and manipulating the Bible to their benefit?

Since I am in a season of support raising, it also reminded me to be honest when sharing with people, something I know is important and not be tempted to manipulate things.  I can already see that this is going to be a difficult time of support raising for me, I am struggling to find people to meet with and the job market is still very tight.  This may be my toughest trial yet, though I’ve endured things which may seem harder – political turmoil, natural disasters and the discomfort of the mission field.  Somehow though, I find anxiety my biggest enemy.

Then, this morning during my devotional as I was reading through Proverbs, I came across this verse:

It is God’s privilege to conceal things and the king’s privilege to discover them.
-Proverbs 25:2 (NLT)

This reminded me that it is important to remember that God’s perspective is so much bigger than ours and though I still don’t know how things will turn out, that whatever happens is for God’s glory.  Interestingly, I am currently reading through CS Lewis’ book The Problem of Pain as part of a Bible study and last night I met with a group of guys and we discussed the second chapter talking about omnipotence and how this relates to pain – the fact that God knows we are going through pain and suffering yet in many circumstances does not intervene.

However, I am reminded of when Gideon tried to attack the Midianites with too many men and God told him to send people home because He would not receive glory.  Maybe there is just too much time right now for God’s glory to shine through this effort.  Whatever happens, I know His timing is perfect.