Ephesians 1

Grace. Is it free or does it cost? I think both. God has offered it as a free gift, but it cost Jesus His life.

Think about this. When a boyfriend buys a girl a $200 sweater, she may feel weird accepting the gift. Why? Because although it's a free gift, the price he paid for it makes her feel obligated to some extent if she accepts it. Take that a step further. When a man saves several months' wages and buys an engagement ring, he offers it as a gift to a girl. In this case, if she accepts his gift, one that cost her nothing, they both understand that she is actually responding by making a commitment to love him for the rest of her life. When he slips that free wedding ring on her finger, it will cost her her life.

The church gets so easily bogged down with the whole grace/works controversy. If you think you can just accept God's grace in some one-time prayer with no life-long commitment, you cheapen the gift. You disrespect its value and the precious price that was paid for it. On the other hand, if you act like you have to work to somehow earn something that was already paid for in full and given as an act of love, you disrespect grace again and the unmerited love that purchased it.

I don't think either of those are the kind of grace this lovely chapter is talking about. I think that any kind of response to God's freely-given grace that falls shy of complete abandon is less than this undeserved grace deserves.

Then consider this. If I were to go out clubbing and get drunk and dance on the tables in a bar, that would disrespect the ring I wear on my finger. It would dishonor the one who I've chosen to bind myself to. It would cheapen the love I've been shown. It would betray the man whose name I carry. I wouldn't even have to actually commit adultery to completely disgrace my husband.

But no wonder God so often compares sin to adultery. As His bride, all sin is exactly like what I just described. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are putting His ring on our finger. So when we choose to violate His love by living in sin, we disgrace grace. I'm not saying we should be motivated by avoiding shame. That's the opposite of what grace deserves. I'm saying that if we have taken His name, if we wear His ring, we should devote ourselves to loving Him with our whole hearts. And out of an outflow of that love, we would never even consider betraying the grace we've been given.