If You Like Free Stuff…
Since relaunching the blog a couple of weeks ago, we have been blessed by some very nice comments, both online and off. Many of you have kindly spoken of some aspect of the redesign that you like, and for that we are very grateful. We want the site to be informative, but also have a good design.
One of the lessons we have learned from the relaunch is this: people like free stuff!
At the top of our blog, there are some buttons that lead to free resources pages. Though our numbers are small by most blog standards, those pages get “hits” every single day, whether we post a new article or not. People want to see what is free.
Additionally, since adding a free incentive for signing up for our blog via email, we have seen that number go nowhere but up. When we relaunched at the beginning of this month, we had less than 100 email subscribers. Now, with a free eBook for signing up, we have over 130. (If you haven’t signed up and gotten your free eBook on Revelation, do so here.)
People just like free stuff. In fact, I would venture to say that, over time, we will have people stumble onto this post simply because the title contains the phrase “free stuff.” (Most of us have googled a phrase like that before!)
Knowing that people like free stuff, I have a question: Why aren’t more people saved?
“What?” you may ask. “How do those things go together?”
They go together perfectly. Just listen to the words of Paul the Apostle:
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23, ESV)
“Free gift.”
That’s what salvation is!
If you want to pay, you can certainly do that, because God has given you choice in this life. He did not create us to be automatons that cannot operate apart from a series of predetermined commands. He gave you choice and will and the ability to think and discern.
But your all-wise Father also made it clear what lies at the end, ultimately, of each choice.
If we desire to sin, we may certainly do so. That is our choice, but God has made it clear that sin is the way that actually costs. It has “wages” associated with it. We must pay.
In total contrast, when it comes to salvation, God has already paid. It is a free gift, because Christ has paid the price in your place and mine. All we must do is accept the gift at the waters of baptism. Come to that location in gratitude and humility and accept the gift. God will give it to you.
So, we have a choice. Do we pay the wages of sin, or do we accept and receive the free gift of God. Consider that contrast.
You may brag about a great freebie you got at some point in your life. Maybe someone gave you a trip, a car…maybe even a house. Over time, though, that gift will end, wear out, or break down.
If you like free stuff, you simply cannot compare any earthly freebie with what the Lord offers. He offers a way out of your biggest problem; that of sin. He offers that freely to you at baptism, and He promises that the gift will last forever.
It’s the greatest free gift anyone can imagine, but so few have accepted it.
Have you?
QUESTION: What comes to your mind when you consider the “free gift” of salvation?
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Photo credit: Alan O’Rourke on Creative Commons
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