In this week’s gospel Jesus encounters a curious Pharisee named Nicodemus. In the midst of their conversation, Jesus reveals himself to be the Son of Man. He invites Nicodemus to be born again, to be born from above. It is an extension of pure grace to this potential disciple. Nicodemus senses, rightly, that this grace is costly, because it will cost Jesus his life as he is “lifted up” on the cross. Yet, it is in following this way of costly grace that grants us true eternal life – a gift that begins not just when we die but when we believe and follow.
Lent is a season of grace, but it is undoubtedly a Costly Grace. Lent calls us to take God’s grace seriously and reminds us of its full cost. Dietrich Bonhoeffer coined the phrases “costly grace” and “cheap grace,” encouraging Christians to a life of costly discipleship in response to the great cost of Christ’s death on Good Friday. Throughout the forty days of Lent, we are invited into Costly Grace: “Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ” (Bonhoeffer).
title image: Study for Nicodemus Visiting Jesus by Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1899. Photo by xennex. WikiArt. Public domain.