Grace

I have twins that are 3-and-a-half and one of them is named Josiah. He is an adorable little kid, remarkably articulate for a toddler, and he can tend to be a bit steadfast. (That was a just a euphemism for stubborn). There are a lot of people without opinions, without clear objectives or the capacity to make decisions... let's just say Josiah isn't one of those people. Like most boogers his age, he enjoys anything with sugar and, in fact, he demands it at times. His approach to this is characteristically unbecoming and I find myself repeating the phrase, "maybe after you eat your food..." more frequently than any man ever should. 

But Josiah seems to have a firm belief in attrition regardless of how little support he finds for his methods. Picture this... a child being deliberately disobedient to his parents, desiring a reward or blessing as the outcome. His belief is that his open defiance will evoke a grace response. Rebellion should be overlooked and enabled. 

This is how a child sees the world. I want this thing, therefore I should have it... and the louder I scream and the more forcefully I demand, the more likely it is I will get what I want. This is a core conviction of most children... and it is why God gave us discipline. 

I bring this up because I think we often see God's grace this way. I know this is a controversial issue for many because it's pretty cozy to think God works this way... it affords me my lazy way of living. But think about this... when I emphasize obedience to my children so much that it becomes my dominant focus, they start to understand that my love and affection is the result of their obedience. They end up thinking they have to earn my love. However, when all I do is tell them that I love them and I always will and I fail to emphasize obedience, they feel completely free to do as they please and nothing is required of them. Both are out of balance and both are death to a child. 

This is not an original thought of course. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was writing about this 70 years ago but I think you will find his words eerily accurate about our culture... if you take the time to look inside yourself, you may even find that he is speaking to you.

"Cheap grace is preaching forgiveness without repentance; it is baptism without the discipline of community; it is the Lord's Supper without confession of sin; it is absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without the living, incarnate Jesus Christ."

"Costly grace is the hidden treasure in the field, for the sake of which people go and sell with joy everything they have... It is costly, because it calls to discipleship; it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly, because it costs people their lives; it is grace, because it thereby makes them live. It is costly, because it condemns sin; it is grace, because it justifies the sinner. Above all, grace is costly, because it was costly to God, because it costs God the life of God's Son and because nothing can be cheap to us which was costly to God."

I am wrestling through this complex dichotomy of grace being a gift and unearned but still requiring something of me and of you. I fear that the church has so emphasized God's unconditional love and grace which is intended to change us, that we have unintentionally blessed people everywhere to receive this grace and remain exactly as they are. 

My former pastor used to say that the cruelest thing you can do to a person is give them a false assurance of salvation. As I consider the state of the church at large, the church I attend, indeed my own self, I have to believe that I and we are guilty of this offense. The justification of the sinner in the world has become the justification of sin and the world. Bonhoeffer goes on to say this: "Everything remains as before, and I can be sure that God's grace takes care of me. The whole world has become "Christian" under this grace." YIKES!

The purpose of grace has never been a conversion experience. The purpose of grace has always been a compelling call to come and follow. My friend Mike, who is more economical with words than me, always says "you do what you believe." If he's right, and I think he is, then don't many of us believe in this thing Bonhoeffer calls cheap grace. Essentially, aren't we children who believe that our Father sees our open rebellion, our deliberate defiance, shrugs His massive shoulders, and says "oh well", proceeding to release us from any pain, any struggle and grant our every desire. Is this the kind of parent God is? Is grace a weak enabling? Is grace the avenue by which God raises up spoiled, rotten children? Or is grace a powerful force that beckons us to follow Jesus, certain that we cannot, but guaranteeing that if we would just give our best shot... if we would genuinely, honestly and brokenly pursue the Christ, it would be the thing that carries us. What do you believe about grace? And yes, it matters... because you do what you believe.

I am the spiritual covering for a group of teenagers. I will have give an account for what I teach them and how I lead them. I have three children with a fourth on the way and I will be responsible for what I teach them too. I tell you those are heavy realities which make me want to believe the right thing. 

May God give us the wisdom to believe that a grace costing him everything requires the same of me. May we have the courage to believe that following him requires action, requires moving, requires energy and requires leaving things behind... sometimes people, sometimes habits, sometimes stuff. May we come to believe that to follow him anywhere we can't stay here. And may we have the guts to be an echo of this call to a world and a to a church that believes grace invites them to cling to their seats and waive as He passes by.

P.S. please share your thoughts on this subject.