Total Devotion to Jesus
As Christians, do we live with Total Devotion to Jesus? In the pages of the New Testament, we see stories of people who go all-in for Jesus. We see this when Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with costly perfume and humbles herself by washing Jesus’ feet with her hair. Saul of Tarsus gives up all that gave him status and purpose so that he can know the suffering Christ.
But what do we see around us? Many of us, like good capitalists, try to get the greatest benefit (salvation) for the lowest cost (self-denial). The result is a church where salvation is easy and discipleship is an extracurricular activity for the especially pious. Famous German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer called this cheap grace, grace without discipleship. While the church preaches good news that God gives salvation as a free gift to those who ask, we shouldn’t take this to mean that God has low expectations for us. While grace is given freely, its work is often costly and painful. That’s the only way that sin can be defeated in our life. It is only in those with a Total Devotion to Jesus that God is able to do his greatest saving work.
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