Hard Talk 6: The Cost of Discipleship (The "Free" Gift that Costs Everything)

"And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. ... In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples." — Luke 14:27, 33

We love the word "Grace." We love that it is a free gift, unearned and unmerited. But we often make the mistake of thinking that because grace is free, it is cheap. The theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously called this "Cheap Grace"—the idea that we can have the benefits of the Kingdom without the authority of the King.

The Hard Look

In Luke 14, Jesus gives some of the most "anti-marketing" advice in history. As the crowds grew, He didn't offer a "welcome package"; He told them to sit down and count the cost. He compared following Him to building a tower or going to war. You don't start unless you intend to finish, and finishing requires everything you have.

The "Hard Talk" reality is this: Salvation costs you nothing, but Discipleship will cost you your life. It costs:

• Your Autonomy: You are no longer the CEO of your own life.

• Your Reputation: Standing for the Truth may make you "unfiltered" and unpopular in a world that values "likes" over Light.

• Your Comfort: As we’ve discussed this week, the Cross is not a recliner.

We often want a "savior" to get us out of trouble, but we hesitate to have a "Lord" who tells us how to live. But authentic living means realizing that the "safety" of our old life was actually a prison.

The Path Forward: The Great Exchange

1. Check the Price Tag: Look at your life today. If someone were to examine your schedule, your bank account, and your private conversations, would they see evidence that following Christ has cost you anything? If our faith costs us nothing, we have to wonder if it is changing us at all.

2. Identify the "Safety Net": What is the one thing you are holding onto "just in case" God asks too much? Is it a career plan, a specific relationship, or a comfort habit? True discipleship begins when we let go of the safety net and trust the Vine.

3. The Joy of the Trade: We aren't just giving things up; we are trading up. We are giving up a flickering candle for the Sun. We are giving up the exhaustion of "self-making" for the rest of being "God-made."

Thank you for joining me for this 6-day Hard Talk series. It hasn't always been easy to walk through these truths, but the Narrow Road is the only one that leads to life. If these posts have challenged or encouraged you, I invite you to dive deeper into these themes in my book, Wholly His, available [growmyfaith.net/resources]