Costly Grace and Tom Hanks

Good evening. I cannot believe I am sitting down to the computer this night before Palm Sunday blogging about Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Costly versus Cheap Grace. But here I am. I just thought if I did not write down my thoughts before I sing tomorrow for service and fly  to Jacksonville FL to visit my daughter that I would lack the discipline (get it? ;-)) to continue reading and posting these blogs about The Cost of Discipleship. So here I am. I'll keep it brief I hope!

It was a marvelous day except for the ridiculous snow. I took my mare Leggs to Paul Waslyn's at the Diamond C (our trainer) and got to visit a bit with him in the barn. I then got to pick out a couple of chairs for the sun room and returned home to watch tonight a Bridge of Spies by Steven Spielberg and featuring a favorite actor of mine Tom Hanks. I will be honest. Jim wanted to see this movie but I was reluctant. It sounded dull and redundant. Of course it was brilliant and set of all places in one of my fave cities...Berlin!!!! I kept saying....oh there is Check Point Charlie and silly stuff like that throughout the show.

I am writing tonight about chapter 1 in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book 'The Cost of Discipleship'. He jumps right in to the book by talking about the concept of grace. I remember when I was first married; I'll be honest here, I never even thought about any idea other than I was a Baptist. So when I first came to the idea of grace as promoted by Martin Luther, I really had to wrap my mind around that idea of free grace. So how weird is it that this is where Bonhoeffer begins his first published book, with the idea that Grace from God might actually be costly. If you read this chapter he drives home the point that while the Grace of God might be free for the taking, it really costs you everything, for you must give all up to follow Christ in a real sense. You have to be a disciple.

Now. This takes me back to Berlin and the movie I just saw tonight which had so many cool parallels to this idea of Costly Grace that Dietrich wants us to embrace. I am just thinking outside of the box here, but isn't it possible that you can go through the motions of a Christian life and fail to negotiate on a daily basis a Christ like attitude that allows opportunity because you are too narrow in your view point to really listen to God? Is it comfortable to take cheap Grace and rationalize that it is pure, while really it is unworthy of God? Does God give us grace, but truly know if we are serving him or serving something else?

I asked these questions of the first chapter because in the very first words we are to consider the heart of Martin Luther's reformation and the idea that one can do nothing to earn God's grace. Instead this chapter asks us to consider the following:
"Happy are those that know that discipleship simply means the life that springs from grace, and grace simply means discipleship."

My next blog post will be from poolside at my daughter's home in Florida! Chapter 2 awaits. If you have seen Bridge of Spies, maybe you get my reference to this chapter. If not, I highly recommend this movie. Good night and "pre" Palm Sunday greetings to all!