My inbox was full of free offers this morning. I can buy a dozen Krispy Kreme’s and get another dozen free. With just Bob and me in the house, not sure we’ll partake of that. Texas Roadhouse wants to offer me a free appetizer. I can choose from “Cactus Blossom (a breaded and fried onion), fried pickles, tater skins loaded with stuff, cheese fries, rattlesnake bites.” Those all sound like they would send my blood sugars through the roof.
Every morning my inbox is filled with “free” offers. I can get a “free” chapter of a book but must later pay for the rest of it. I can receive a “free” sermon outline, well just the first part of it, and if I like it, I can pay for the remainder. Few of these “free” offers are things I really need. Or want. They are simply tailored to attract my attention and then get me to spend my money.
My Creator, however, knows what I really need and His “free” offer really is free. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” [Rom 3:23-25]
I have often had that verse recited to me, usually with the focus on “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” part. That is important, but this morning I’m focusing on the “justified freely by His grace” part.
We all need God’s salvation. None of us match up to the Holiness He requires. And none of us can earn it or buy it with our “good” works. If it is not “freely” given by His grace, through what Christ Jesus accomplished on the cross … we will never be able to afford it because on our own we are spiritually bankrupt. (Oh, and His offer truly is free! All of it!)
