Years ago I had a jewelry party. You probably know how it works, the more jewelry sold at your party, the more “free” merchandise you qualify to receive as a hostess gift. The only catch…. I had to pay the taxes for the free stuff and the cost of shipping. I had a blast looking through the jewelry catalog over and over, perusing every page and making a list of what I wanted to order for myself. Finally, when my list was ready, I placed the order to receive my free merchandise. With the finalized order came the final bill. In the end I had to pay a lot of money to get all I qualified to receive. When Dave saw the bill he said, “We can’t afford for you to get any more ‘free’ jewelry!”
Regardless of what the advertisement says, nothing is really free. There is always a catch and always a cost involved. I have learned that lesson the hard way throughout my life. Somebody, somewhere has to pay.
Thinking about Easter, I realize that the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection came with a very big price tag. Salvation is a gift that is freely given to all people, but it certainly was not “free.” Jesus paid the bill for each of us when he died on the cross. Our sin debt qualified us to receive an eternity in hell, but God paid the debt so we can qualify to experience an eternity in heaven. Thank you, Jesus, for paying a bill that I could not afford. Thank you for proving you are more powerful than death by coming back to life three days later. Thank you for being that somebody who paid the cost for me.
