It’s Free
by Gemma Gardner
Dean and I are preparing to go on holiday at the end of the week. Dean recommended a couple of books by John Bunyan that I could download on to my kindle to read while we are away. I was really excited when I found that I could download “Pilgrim’s Progress” and “The Holy War” free of charge. I’m looking forward to reading them while we are away.
Then, while out shopping last week, I wanted to get some chocolate raisins. When I asked for two bags of them the assistant said I might as well have three, because it was ‘buy two, get one free’. I was glad to have another bag.
As I was walking home, I was thinking about what had happened in the shop. Really, I was having to spend more money to get one free. It’s a ploy to make us buy more, and most of us fall for it, although sometimes you can get a bargain.
I started thinking about the things that the Lord gives us that are really free for us, but were of great cost to Him, and the above Bible verse came to mind. Jesus invites us to come to Him when we are hungry and thirsty. He is the bread of life and the water is His Holy Spirit whom God has poured out on us freely when we come to Him.
The wine and the milk speak to me of the joy and peace we receive from Jesus for free, and the milk is His Word. In the New Testament, Peter urged us to eagerly desire the milk of God’s word so that we can grow to maturity (1 Peter 2:2).
The greatest free gift God gave us is eternal life, just through believing in Him and that He raised Jesus from the dead. He has also adopted us as His children and made us joint-heirs with Jesus. He freely loves us, has freely forgiven us our sins, and goes on forgiving us when we fail. He freely heals our wounds and binds up our broken hearts.
The amazing thing is that everything He gives is free. We cannot earn anything. But we can come to Him empty handed and He will pour out His grace upon us. It’s hard to take it in sometimes. It was a long time before I began to understand just how much God had made available to me, and I’m still learning. I pray that the Lord will make these things increasingly real to you who read today’s Seed.
Gemma Gardner lives in Norfolk with her husband, Dean, who until recently worked at Ellel Grange. They are both part of the Associate Ministry team which Gemma joined after completing the Modular school. Gemma has experienced the Lord`s healing and restoration over many years and longs to see Him healing other broken people. Gemma loves listening to music, cooking, knitting and crochet as well as outdoor exercise. She enjoys playing guitar and singing worship songs.
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