CHAPTER 16

What Grace Costs

Grace doesn’t cost as much as I thought.

These days I get lots of telephone calls because I left my cell number in

the back of almost a million copies of my last book, Love Does. Jesus was
available to everyone, and I am reminded of the power of engaging
strangers as I field dozens of calls from them daily. People don’t follow
vision; they follow availability. I don’t send people to voice mail
anymore. Try it for a week. Loving people the way Jesus did means living
a life filled with constant interruptions. Take the calls. Interrupt your
days. Be excessively available, and you’ll be just like Jesus.
There’s a kid who calls me every three weeks and cusses at me. I’m a
lawyer and thought I’d heard all the bad words before. Evidently there are
some new ones because he’s unloaded quite a few on me. The funny thing
is we’ve never gotten to what he’s mad about. Each time before he hangs
up, I tell him, “I’ll always take your call.” Here’s why: I don’t want him
to climb a tower with a rifle or say these things to someone who just
walked out of a biker bar. They’ll kill him.
I’ve got the young man tagged on caller ID as “Vulgar Kid” because I
need to brace myself each time before I get an earful from him. Is it fair
he says mean things to me? Of course not. But here’s what’s changing in
me: I don’t want what’s fair anymore. I want to be like Jesus. It’s a
distinction worth making.
One day, I was in my office with a person who had some legal
problems. The phone rang, and I explained to the person who was with
me I never send people to voice mail. I excused myself and answered my