How free is grace?

"Then he called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me." Mark 8:34

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father or mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters- yes, even his own life- he cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:28

Following Christ comes at a cost. Losing your life comes at a cost. Pursuing righteousness comes at a cost. Denying yourself comes at a cost. Salvation comes... free?

Acc to the english dictionary GRACE is
a.the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.
b.the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.
c.a virtue or excellence of divine origin: the Christian graces.

We are saved by grace, not by works so noone would boast. Salvation is a free, unmerited favour of God. But what about godly living?

Godly living is hard. It's joyful and hopeful, but it's hard. Working out a godly marriage is hard. Picking up my cross is hard. When we preach Christ how do we present Him? Someone who would solve all our problems? A nice addition to a little life we already have? Or do we make people count the cost and see their losses and rewards? And what if the loss is their lives?

Grace is free. But how free is it?