Romans 6:20-23
20 When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 So what fruit did you then gain from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the fruit you have leads to sanctification, and the end is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
There are not many things in life that are truly free. Most things have a cost whether it is time or resources that we use to help gift something in our life. Even when we have bought theme park passes that come with food, my children will often say, “But mom, the food is free!” No, the food really isn’t free. We just already paid for it as part of our ticket. However, the feeling of cashing in on something that is free is an incredible feeling. Whether it is a giveaway item or being given something, it feels incredible to receive something that feels like it has no cost. So much of life is expensive, costly or hard earned so when you feel like something is free there is a weight that is lifted.
The gift of Christ is the greatest free gift in our lives. There is nothing that we had to do to earn this gift. Nothing. God gave us Jesus and the salvation that comes through him for free. For God, the gift was rather costly. To give of your own beloved knowing what was going to unfold is the ultimate gift for God’s beloved people. A gift given with love, who brought love, and redeems us in love is the greatest gift of love that we can ever receive in our lives.
Prayer
God, we thank you for the gift of your son. When we pause to think about the magnitude of the gift of your son, we are in awe. To give of your son, your beloved, to redeem and love us is the most amazing gift that humanity could ever receive. In eternal gratitude, Amen.