Day 1086 · Year 3 · The Great Tradition
Bonhoeffer on grace that costs us our lives
A pastor in Nazi Germany refused 'cheap grace.'
Today's passage
Luke 9:23-25
23Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
25What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self?
Berean Standard Bible · public domain
Reflection
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, executed for resisting Hitler, wrote about 'costly grace' — grace that is free to us because it cost God everything in Christ, and which therefore actually calls us to follow. Jesus says the same: deny yourself, take up your cross, follow me. Cheap grace says 'be forgiven and stay the same.' Costly grace says 'be forgiven, and now come die and live with me.' Most days, taking up the cross is not dramatic. It is the small, costly 'yes' to what Christ is asking of you right now.
From the great tradition · paraphrased
Dietrich Bonhoeffer · Modern · 20th c. · Germany
Bonhoeffer insisted that the grace that saves is the grace that costs — free to us because Christ paid for it, and therefore worth losing our life for.
Paraphrase only. Scripture, not any teacher, is the authority.
Think it through
- What three things does Jesus call disciples to do in verse 23?
- What is the paradox in verses 24–25?
- What small costly 'yes' is Christ asking of you right now?
A prayer to pray
Bring the costly thing. Say yes to it. Trust that what you lose for Christ is never finally lost.