Costly Grace

Luke 14:25-33

This past Sunday’s Gospel reading contains some exceedingly hard sayings from our Lord. Just consider what Jesus tells us: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:25) When I read these words, I want to move on to words that are more comforting to my life, such as stories where Jesus is more in tune with family life — where He calls children to “come to me,” or where He comforts Mary, Martha and Lazarus, or where, even from His Cross, He has deep concern for His own mother.

But these words all lead to dead ends in one sense. By attacking family loyalty, Jesus makes clear what is essential to discipleship: if you are to be His disciple, then Jesus must be the center of your life — not family, nation, money, nor comfort. This is not an easy lesson for us to hear. It is part of sinful human nature to want our discipleship to be on our own terms, not Christ’s.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran pastor martyred in Germany at the very end of World War II, may help us understand this better by his distinction between cheap grace and costly grace:

“Cheap grace,” said Bonhoeffer, “is the preaching of forgiveness without repentance,

baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ living and incarnate.”

In short, cheap grace is the acceptance of new life without amendment of life and commitment to true discipleship. And it is the most vicious, demonic enemy that Christianity has because it allows us to feel righteous and justified without any cost. Cheap grace — forgiveness without repentance and amendment of life — results in a Christianity that leaves society, and us, undisturbed by its presence.

But Christ calls us to something different. He calls us to carry our cross and follow Him on the road of obedience to God. Bonhoeffer calls this costly grace.

“Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the fields. It is the pearl of great price for which a:

merchant will give all his goods. It is the call of Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows Him. It is costly because it costs a man his life; it is grace because it gives a man his only true life.”

This does not mean that costly grace puts us in opposition to family, country, friends or even the church, but it might. Costly grace disturbs our complacency, challenges our discipleship and calls us to put Christ at the very center of our life.