God's Grace Equals Provision

8/26/2025

Two liner: Grace is God’s provision for those who care—not a reason not to care.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

The full quote:

“At the end of a life spent in the pursuit of knowledge Faust has to confess: ‘I now see that we can nothing know.’ That is the answer to a sum, it is the outcome of a long experience. But as Kierkegaard observed, it is quite a different thing when a freshman comes up to the university and uses the same sentiment to justify his indolence. As the answer to a sum it is perfectly true, but as the initial data it is a piece of self-deception.

“It is the same with the grace of God. Always regard it as the last word, as the answer to a sum, as the solution to a perplexing difficulty, a solace and a strength in the struggle of life and the labor of obedience. But do not regard it as the initial principle for your calculations. In that case it is not grace but presumption. The evangelical message for the world is not ‘justified by grace’ as a universal principle, but as the solution to a struggle and a torment, the overcoming of sin and of contrition, the word of release after toil and burden.

“Grace as the data for our calculations means grace at the cheapest price, but grace as the answer to the sum means costly grace. It is terrifying to realize how often we assume that grace is the data from which we set out to solve the problem of life’s riddles, instead of recognizing it as the answer which is given to us at the end.”

The chat GPT summary:

At the end of a lifelong pursuit, Faust confesses, “I now see that we can nothing know”—the answer to a sum, true after hard experience. But if a freshman takes this as his starting point to excuse laziness, it becomes self-deception.

So it is with grace. Regard it not as the initial principle, but as the answer after the struggle and labor of obedience. Grace as data means cheap grace; grace as the outcome is costly. Too often, we presume grace at the outset, rather than receiving it as the solution given at the end.

Grace is God’s provision for those who care—not a reason not to care.

Martin Luther “discovered” Grace and Faith BECAUSE, BECAUSE, BECAUSE he cared sooooooo much. He suffered immensely, wanting to please God with all of his heart. Faith and grace were the answer to the pursuit of someone who would die for and do anything for Jesus to please him—and then discovered that it wasn’t effort that pleased Jesus. It was utter trust, absolute abandonment to the blood of Jesus as his only hope.

But that grace does not apply to someone who doesn’t care as Martin Luther cared.