GRACE IS NOT CHEAP

 > GRACE IS NOT CHEAP

Grace is given freely—

but it is never cheap.

It does not come from us,

so we cannot price it,

control it,

or reduce it to comfort.

Grace comes from the Cross.

And the Cross is not a symbol of ease—

it is the place where truth refused compromise,

where love endured rejection,

where mercy bore the full weight of sin

without turning away.

So when grace meets a life,

it does not leave it unchanged.

Cheap grace asks nothing,

requires nothing,

transforms nothing.

It comforts without confronting,

forgives without restoring,

speaks peace without truth.

But true grace—

the grace of Jesus Christ—

does something deeper.

It calls you out of illusion

and into reality.

It exposes what is broken

not to condemn,

but to heal.

It leads you through repentance,

through surrender,

through a reordering of the heart.

Grace does not excuse the old life—

it crucifies it

so that a new life can begin.

This is why grace feels costly to us—

not because it demands payment,

but because it demands transformation.

It asks you to let go

of what you once defended,

to walk away

from what once defined you,

to trust God

where you once trusted yourself.

And yet, this is the paradox:

What grace costs you

is what was destroying you.

What grace gives you

is what you could never earn.

So do not mistake gentleness for weakness,

or mercy for permission.

Grace is not cheap—

it is powerful.

It is the hand of God

reaching into the deepest places of the soul,

not to leave you as you are,

but to make you whole.

And the Cross still stands,

declaring to every generation:

You are freely loved—

but not left unchanged. 

Pastor Steven G. Lee 

St. GMC Corps

May 1, 2026