It was inevitable that the lure of the quick and easy would seep into religion. Our churches have filled up with people looking for sudden and painless paths to change and growth—for what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace.” A lot of us have spent our lives in shortcut religion. We haven’t been willing to face the fact that while the spiritual journey is joyous and full, it’s also long and hard. It asks much—too much sometimes.
