Would you like to dance in grace? Or is that too wild? Would you rather sit out? Or is that too tame? “To what will I compare this generation? It is like a child sitting in the marketplaces calling out to others, ‘We played the flute for you and you didn’t dance. We sang a funeral song and you didn’t mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ Yet the Human One came…
Faith is not an abstract idea. Nor it is a passive acceptance of certain set of beliefs. Faith is not merely a matter of eternity, either. Faith is God in action within us now. Faith is God changing us inside out. And then we are sent to live out our faith in our communities. Because faith needs to be lived and shared. That way it becomes visible. It wasn’t so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes…
It’s great that we trust God. But we are also called to follow Christ. We can’t omit the cross and Christ. Dietrich Bonhoeffer states “Christianity without discipleship is Christianity without Christ.” As followers of Jesus we can’t dictate our own terms or decide what we are willing to do. We can’t write our own program to suit our whims and wants. We can’t limit our following to our comprehension. In the Cost of Discipleship Dietrich Bonhoeffer shares the timeless advice…
Grace is free but not cheap. We can’t earn grace but still it is not cheap. Because cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate, states Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Grace is free but costly. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (Matthew 13:44, NRSV) “Costly grace is…
