Ring Ring, It's for You

Here are a couple late-night thoughts before I go to bed (I have an early morning tomorrow, funny how my summer vacation isn’t really a vacation). As I continue to trudge through my summer challenge I have reached out to my spiritual “personal trainers” by beginning Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book The Cost of Discipleship. If you have never read it then I advise that you drop everything you are doing and buy a copy now (seriously, what the heck are you still reading this for?). One of my few regrets is that I didn’t read this when my father bought it four years ago, it is an amazing book. Bonhoeffer doesn’t sugarcoat his message, his point is frank: God is calling us to something more. He writes about “cheap grace,” something that has pervaded the church and put its body to sleep. Thousands snooze in the pews, comforted by the fact that they are indeed saved. But what is the price? James wrote about faith and good works thousands of years ago, and Bonhoeffer draws up the argument again. Simply put, they are both needed. A good tree bears good fruit, it is as simple as that. To paraphrase Bonhoeffer, if we are surprised by our lack of faith we only need to look to our actions for an explanation. Yes we are saved by faith, but to have faith we need to obey. God is calling you to something greater, to take that leap of faith you need to obey the call. To obey the call will cost your life, but give you immense joy. This is the hardest thing for me to wrap my mind around, I’m a 19 year old kid from Boston who enjoys relaxing and playing ball. How can I think about giving up my life? Well, it’s a choice we are all faced with; either we obey the call or we do not. There is no middle ground here (while I admit there is on many issues). Jesus is calling you today, will you answer?