Resist him (the devil), standing firm in the faith. Do so in the knowledge that your fellow believers are enduring the same suffering throughout the world. 1 Peter 5:9
Dietrich Bonhoeffer coined the term "cheap grace" in his book, "The Cost of Discipleship." According to the Bible, grace itself is free, a gift from God. The cost of giving grace was expensive; it was through the blood of Jesus, our sacrificial lamb. Although the gift of grace is free, the cost of our discipleship is not.
God blanketed the world with His blood, yet many are blind and deaf to this grace. When blind eyes see, and the deaf ears hear, one reaches a precipice of decision: Do we recognize this grace or deny it? For those who accept God's gift through the Son, Jesus Christ, a cost is involved. Following Christ goes against our very nature of self-preservation, and it will cost us the relinquishing of God's grace in us, to others. Christians, throughout history, have died for their faith. Most of us have it relatively easy. However, we still pay the price.
When we go against the crowd, speak on behalf of our faith in an unseen God, hold our tongues, forgive when we don't want to, and love the unlovable, we are paying a cost of sorts, low in comparison to torture, but still a price. By denying ourselves, our rights, our wishes, our dreams, our tongues, our possessions, and our hearts, we yield our will to God.
When we abnegate our prideful thrones to the rightful owner, we are, in essence, resisting the devil and standing firm in our faith. We do suffer to some degree in this world as we walk our faith, and some suffer greatly. All fellow believers are being molded and shaped in God's refining fire of love. Even someone we admire, like Saint Theresa, struggled in her spiritual journey. For nearly half a century, she felt no presence of God whatsoever. She eventually came to peace with this as sharing in Christ suffering. She exclaimed, "I have come to love the darkness." And it was in this place of darkness where Mother Theresa would do her most excellent deeds of grace to others.
Can we come to a point where we say the same thing as Saint Mother Theresa? We don't necessarily enjoy the tearing down of our ego, but eventually, when we empty of self to become full of Christ, the only thing spilling out of us will be Christ. Mother Theresa worked in faith despite her crises of faith. She kept stepping forward on God's path, denying her feelings.
The first step on the path of faith is admitting that our self-worth is not worth much without the one who is supremely worthy, living through us. Grace is free; following Christ through faith will cost.
I accept, Oh Lord, your gift of grace. Now in your grace, give me the power to yield myself to You in all things. Through Christ, Amen.
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