The Price is Right

Well I am back sooner than promised, which I suppose is a good thing. Honestly I was going through a rough time in my faith and didn’t feel like writing, but then again, if it’s not hard it’s not real, if I had no problems then I would have something to worry about. Back to the post; you know a book is good when you read the first two pages and already have something to write about. I’ve been reading The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a minister during WWII. Bonhoeffer was killed in a concentration camp in 1945, sadly as the war was ending. That doesn’t make his life wasted though, as I said, even if we die young we die with purpose and that is really all that matters. What struck me is the initial distinction between “cheap grace” and “costly grace.” Bonhoeffer writes that cheap grace justifies the sin while costly grace justifies the sinner. I can’t agree more. Too often in the modern church we shy away from God’s perfection and our contrasting sin. We say “Oh of course it’s all right” to a number of sins, instead of admitting we are wrong. For a long time I have been doing this and it finally caught up with me, sometimes you need to see the consequences of your sin to realize it is wrong. Bonhoeffer’s point isn’t “we are evil and are going to hell” no he very much emphasizes God’s love and grace. His point is that grace is not without cost. That we cannot use it to justify our sins, instead justify ourselves before God. In no way is sin ever “good”, but by God’s grace we can be. As I continue reading there will be more to write and it will probably be clearer and better thought out. Until then enjoy the all-too quickly fading summer.