I love a good bargain. I don’t like paying full price, and I’m pretty good at finding great deals. A good sale is wonderful. But free, free is even better. Right?
Apparently not. Today, our church did a little outreach. We went to a couple of laundromats and gave out bags of quarters to people. The group I was with successfully gave away ONE bag of quarters. Everyone else we approached declined. Isn’t that amazing? Free money. And we couldn’t give it away. There were no strings attached. We just wanted to bless them. But we were turned away. Don’t you think that’s sad? We couldn’t give away free money!
It made me think about God’s gifts. He gives us grace, and often times, we reject Him. He offers everyone the gift of life, but we tell him, “No, thanks.” We get suspicious. We think there might be strings attached. Or we think that we’d rather earn our salvation than to be gifted with it. After all, there’s no such thing as a free lunch, right? So, why should grace be free? But isn’t that what’s amazing about grace? It’s free. Undeserved. Yet given because God loves.
Today’s experience also made me think about other gifts I might be rejecting. Or gifts I might not be claiming. Like peace (sometimes, I’d rather worry, I think.) Or His multitude of promises. Or even photography. I love it. I love capturing the beauty in others. I love shooting images that makes me and others feel something. Yet, on more than one occasion, I’ve asked God, “why photography, Lord? Why not something useful? Something that can make a difference in this world?” Yet, who am I to question what He’s given me? He’s given me this passion, and I should revel in it and use it for His glory. Instead of asking why, I should say thanks. I should praise Him.
I leave you with this picture. Not really related to what I was babbling about, but since my friend, Jen pretty much just checks my blog for pictures, I better post one.
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