“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” Isaiah 55:1
“Uh… garbage,” I said, then threw the junk mail into the trash. Every week I get something in the mailbox offering a fancy dinner, for FREE! All I have to do is show up! At least that’s the sales pitch. Come to this expensive restaurant and we’ll buy your dinner. The ‘pitch’ is, I have to listen to them tell me how to invest my $!
Sometimes I’m offered travels to exotic places. Or even, how to save money on FUNERAL costs! Yes… even dying isn’t free! Being a salesman most of my career, I know that the first 2 things toward making a sale is to get the potential buyers ‘attention,’ and then get their ‘interest!’ Signing up for a free dinner proves both!
The idea of “Free Salvation” was common when I started out experimenting with Evangelism. Even the Bible says that Heaven is a Free Gift… right? Well… not exactly. Heaven is a gift (Romans 6:23). But ‘The Gift’ was never ‘free!’ A couple translators of the Bible added ‘free,’ presumably to make salvation appealing!
Today’s verse seems to capture the Spirit of God’s idea of Freedom and presents a quandary. “Come and buy… without cost!” When I first heard the message of ‘Free Grace,’ I admit I was looking at it from MY point of view. To gain eternal, heavenly blessing for NOTHING sounded too good to be true. And it was!
I have learned in life that NOTHING is FREE! ESPECIALLY ‘Salvation’ and ‘Justification by Faith.’ In fact, those items literally cost me EVERYTHING I HAVE… AND AM! To get Him… I have to give up ME! Thinking of ‘milk and honey’ rolling down my cheeks, while dying of thirst on a hot desert, is GREAT salesmanship!
Having been the recipient of MASSES amounts of Grace from God, I no longer spout the ‘Free’ word! Because Salvation is a transaction… a sale! Jesus offers ALL of HIM, in exchange for ALL of ME! While the reward is beyond comparison, the cost is ultimate! And He doesn’t make deals. It’s ‘All’ or ‘Nothin’!
Have YOU given’ Jesus your ALL? Are YOU ‘ALL IN?’ If you are, you know that every day is filled with the difficult and expensive proposition of dying to YOUR self-ish ways to gain HIS. But the reward is immeasurable! Have YOU purchased “The Deal of a Lifetime?” If so.. then let go of yourself!
