Cheap Grace

Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Philippians 1:27

One of my all time favorite quotes outside of the Scriptures is from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was a Lutheran pastor in Nazi Germany. He was killed during the closing days of World War II having been arrested for taking part in a plot to assasinate Hitler.

In his book, The Cost of Discipleship, he writes, "Grace is free, but it is not cheap."

I think that is what Paul is getting at in this verse from Philippians. Jesus' sacrifice upon the cross was a tremendous sacrifice not to be taken for granted. It was a heavy price the Jesus paid for us. He went to such tremendous lengths. Jesus saved our lives.

With that in mind, how can we set aside Jesus presence in our lives? How can we turn our back on his instruction?

Sure Jesus will forgive our sins, but the cross is about more than forgiveness of sins alone. The cross is about everything.

I pray I will gladly take up my cross, because I know Jesus has already taken up his cross for me.