I saw the box sitting in the hall. The saying was plastered across a dozen boxes. I stopped and stared at it for a while. I can't put my finger on it, but it unsettled me. I'm all for discounts and I have ordered numerous items from this company, but I have never paid any attention to this branding. It did not compel me to want to order more.
It seems to mix things together that don't go together. Christianity is not about less, its not about cheaper, its not about easier. Christianity for less seems to cheapen the Gospel. It reminded me of Bonhoeffer's famous passage:
“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession...Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” The Cost of Discipleship.
I finally decided its the word, "Everything" that is bothering me. If it said, "Christian books for less" or, "Christian trinkets for less," then I would not even have paused. It says, "everything Christian."
I made a list of things Christian which can't be had for less. Salvation comes only by the death of self. It is not a bargain, it can't be had by a lesser means. Until we come to Christ in repentance, we cannot be saved. Character is never measured in portions, it is something revealed over time and when it is lost, it is difficult to recover. Servanthood is the path Jesus took and it requires carrying a cross. It goes against our nature and there is not a less expensive version of it.
Too often, Christianity has tried to become user friendly, less demanding, simpler, but these are usually attempts to have a discipleship that does not require me to change my life and to follow Jesus. He calls us to the narrow path, the more difficult path because the reward is vast-the love of Christ. It is better to pay a higher price now for the exceedingly greater reward. I want to see new boxes with the slogan, "Everything Christian. Huge Cost. Worth It."