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"Costly Grace" by Red Letter Society: Jesus Never Hid the Price Tag


What does grace really cost you? 

Jesus never hid the price tag. He asked His followers to leave everything, to count their gains as loss, “whatever the cost, or how heavy the cross.” “Costly Grace” by Red Letter Society was created around that tension, a grace that’s free to receive but expensive to live out. The chorus pleads, “Lord, make me desperate to ABIDE in You.” In other words, following Jesus through pain requires more than just good intentions. It requires desperation. 

Red Letter Society - Costly GraceWhy would anyone choose desperation over comfort? Because comfort doesn’t sanctify us. The second verse names the thorn that may not be removed, and a choice to praise anyway: “yet still I will praise, as you sanctify.” That’s not denial. That’s trust built through weakness, because “when I am weak, your Spirit is strong.” 

The apostle Paul understood this. We read in Philippians 3:8, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Notice the word “surpassing”? Paul isn’t grieving about his losses. He’s recalculating what actually holds value. 

Your losses may be different. Maybe it’s a relationship, a habit, a plan you had for your life that God is asking you to release. The challenge is to sit with that discomfort instead of running from it. Ask yourself what you’re holding on to that Christ is calling you to surrender. Then take one concrete step today, even if it’s ‘just’ a small step. Maybe it’s a conversation, a perceived limitation, a prayer of surrender… Take that step now instead of waiting for when you feel that the timing/setting is right. 

This is the paradox at the heart of the gospel: ‘dying’ to yourself (letting go of your own will / ideas / plans) is how you actually find life. Grace was never meant to stay comfortable. 

May you carry this song in your mind today. May the chorus become your own prayer: “You call me freely to this costly grace.”

(Related scripture: Philippians 3:8; Luke 9:23; 2 Corinthians 12:9)

Background:

God's grace is free, but it is costly. He asks us to count up the cost, to take up our cross daily and follow Him. Yet we are also promised that if we suffer with Him we will also be raised with Him. Praise God for this costly grace.

Release date: September 23, 2026

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