Grace is free, but it is not cheap.
It comes at an unimaginable price.
Those who take God at his Word believe that the gospel story is true:
God loves us and has a wonderful plan for our lives.
We are separated from God and cannot know his great love or experience his plan for us.
Jesus bridged the gap by paying the price for our sin. Nothing else can bridge the gap: not good works nor any amount of gift-giving, not knowledge nor vain philosophies.
We don’t get to enjoy any gift unless we accept it. Jesus explains that “accepting” him means denying oneself, carrying our cross daily, and following him and becoming his disciple; not following our plan for our life but his.
Salvation is a free gift from God. But following Jesus or being his disciple is more costly than saying a prayer; it requires focused action. In Luke 14, Jesus himself outlines some of the costs of being a disciple of Jesus:
1. Give up your place of honor
He says, “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.” (V 8)
I knew one leader who introduced his employees in public as his colleagues, the people who worked with him, not for him. Raising others up is one way of giving up our place of honor. We didn’t choose or earn our place in being born in one of the wealthiest places on earth. Perhaps giving up our place of honor has something to do with lifting up those around the world who face harder struggles just to live. Another way of giving up our place of honor is to stop presuming that we are right and others are wrong. What does it mean to you to give up your place of honor in order to follow Jesus?
2. Answer him when he calls you.
In the story he told about the great wedding banquet, Jesus said many were too busy to come when they were invited. Busyness is one of the enemy’s chief distractions. I’m almost a bit surprised that we don’t see tombstones engraved with, “Sure kept busy!” Perhaps it’s because we’re too embarrassed by our busyness to be honest about it. I read recently that the average user spends 17 minutes a day on Facebook. I just wonder what is the average time spent in daily prayer. Jesus calls us to pray, to feed the hungry, to minister to the poor, to visit the sick (even if it makes us uncomfortable), and to tell others about his good news. What does it mean to you to answer his call on your life?
3. Count the costs
Jesus adds, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters – yes even his own life – he cannot be my disciple. Anyone of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26,33) Of course, he’s not telling us to abandon the 5th commandment (honor your father and mother); he’s calling us to embrace the first (you shall have no other gods before me). Counting the costs means putting nothing before God, not family, not possessions, not your career, not the American dream, nor your health, or pursuit of happiness. Each of us finds that our walk with the Lord is not as deep a journey as it should be. What comes to your mind as you count the costs to following him more closely?
Today is the day to give up your place of honor. It’s the only day you have to answer his call on your life; there’s no promised tomorrow. And today is the day to count the costs of following Jesus fully. Perhaps it seems too hard, like giving up so much. In reality, I suspect it’s more like settling for far less than the blessings God intends for you… and me.