Take a look at the cross above, and which first comes to mind? The truth that Jesus’ death on the cross paid the debt for our sin and we can know him? Or, the truth that we each must take up OUR cross daily, even at the risk of our life? Let me suggest that as we tell people about Jesus, we need to cover both. I learned that the hard way.
While planting a new church in Temecula, God graced our income with doing a good number of weddings with premarital counseling and I wove in Jesus and his love, and that faith is by God’s grace. One young couple, Zack and Cheri, developed an interest and began coming to our weekly home Bible studies.
Not much time elapsed before they wanted to accept Jesus, and we dunked them in our backyard jacuzzi. They continued to grow, then one night Zak took me aside. “Tim, we’ve been thinking about the challenges of following Jesus, and honestly, that’s not what we signed up for. I think we’ll take a break from this Jesus stuff.”
That was largely my fault. Our early studies talked about the benefits of faith, and while we covered commitment and sacrifice, I didn’t communicate that clearly enough. Then I heard the phrase, “You keep them as you win them,” and the proverbial light bulb went off. So I studied how Jesus described what it meant to follow him.
Yes, he offered grace, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest…because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). I like that. I need that. But that’s part of the tapestry of faith.
With the accomplished religious scholar and leader Nicodemus, Jesus told him to start over, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3).
When a wealthy young man approached Jesus, the answer differed, “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Mark 10:21.
In the next passage, Jesus confronts us with two issues, how we value family and our own life, “If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison — your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters — yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).
But he balanced that with grace.
Why was Jesus so bold? He knew that if we can commit to the most difficult, we can handle the easier. But while we might handle the easy, the difficult may exceed our grasp
When we tell people about grace, alone, they see the easy. If we tell people about sacrifice, alone, they may shrink back at the difficulty. Let’s be sure we share the tapestry, each thread.
Let me share another thread. We often begin with Jesus because we have some sort of need, some way we want to benefit. We need ease, relief, and grace. That’s fine. But to build a solid faith that endures, we need to mature and weave in the reality that serving Jesus means sacrifice. And that’s good.
By the way, several years later Zack and Cheri reconnected with me, and were solid in their faith. They just hadn’t been ready, but now were. So, the story ended well. 😊
Kick Starting the Application
Where are you on the continuum of grace and sacrifice? Do you sense you incorporate both in your faith? How can you better balance them?