day 13: grace - cheap or costly?

"for Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. and he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."

2 corinthians 5:14-15

i recently gave up soda. not for lent, and not because i am a huge soda addict, but because i realized how empty it is and what a waste (of calories) it is. i will admit that i have had a little here and there, mostly when i am sick and either need ginger ale to settle my stomach or the carbonation of sprite to soothe a sore throat. but i used to have it much more often - a sprite every day or so. the thing about soda is that not only is it a waste, but it doesn't even accomplish what a beverage should. it doesn't quench thirst. in fact, it probably makes me thirstier which causes me to drink more. now i mostly drink water with a juice, lemonade or iced tea here and there. pure water is the most thirst quenching liquid and the only one that truly satisfies.

grace is a common religious term heard in the church. we throw it around and often sing songs about it without really understanding it. sunday school taught me what it means and catechism enforced it - getting something you don't deserve. does that really grasp the depth of it? i have recently admitted that in a lot of ways i struggle with grace. i know what it means. i recognize my need for grace. but i have a fully accepted it? do i accept grace freely without trying to earn it and work for it in some way? i have asked myself, if i didn't do any of the "good" things that i do now with my life (serving as a youth leader, missions trips, leading worship in the band, tithing, even going to church each week), would i be able to accept grace? do i do them to feel more "deserving" (as if we could ever deserve even the smallest big of grace)? i know that for me part of the reason i do these things is out of gratitude and thankfulness as a response to God for the grace. but part of me is still trying to earn grace.

grace can be broken down into cheap grace and costly grace. "cheap grace is the sterile doctrine of forgiveness divorced from Jesus himself." to me cheap grace recognizes that i have been forgiven of my sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but it doesn't change my life. cheap grace continues in the same sins and struggles. it expects the Christian life to be easy. when it gets too hard, we quit.

costly grace recognizes the sacrifice of Jesus and transforms us. "grace is not the real thing unless it makes a real difference in our lives." costly grace exposes sin and produces sorrow for it. as paul says in 2 corinthians 5, "Christ's love compels us." costly grace costs us something - our own life. yes, Jesus died and saved us from our sins. but we must give up our earthly lives to God, even when the road is hard and long.

cheap grace is like soda, it never really satisfies. if we want to quench our thirst, we must drink the pure water of costly grace. if we drink it, it will change our lives forever.

Lord, help me to better understand grace. thank for giving us the gift of your son, Jesus, as a means of grace. in response to that gift, fill me with gratitude that results in the transforming of my life. shine your light into the crevices of my heart so i will find selfishness that i never knew existed. give me a thirst that is only quenched by you.