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| The Value of Free |
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 I didn't major in Marketing or read any business best-seller books to understand that I myself never value things as much when I get them for free. Now I love free pretzel day just as much as the next gal. But when I step back and take another angle, I see something interesting. For the longest time I worked in companies that offered free gym membership or had an elaborate office gym I could use any hour of the day. Now that I'm on my own, I have to pay to workout at a gym. But guess what? I go to the gym more now and am in better shape for it. Not always.. but most of the time paying for something makes me value it more, because hey.. I committed to it and worked at it with my time, resources.. etc. We met some great people this weekend at our friends' wedding in San Miguel, Mexico (more on that later.. when I find my camera cable). It's always interesting seeing the different reactions I get when asked, "So, what do you do?". My work is a great conversation piece and no one is ever shy about sharing their view of Christianity and Christian churches. One of the conversations we had with a gal from New York started heading into the realm of what I call "Christian-thumping" theology. The question went something like this: "If salvation is a free gift from God, why doesn't He make himself obvious to everyone so that everyone could receive this gift?" For the first time, I began wondering. Does God want us to value His gift of salvation? Maybe, probably! I would if I were Him. :) What if believing in Christ and understanding that He died for our sins, didn't take much effort at all. What if faith didn't play a part and every person with a 2nd grade education could logically deduce that God exists. If it were that easy, if there weren't years of doubt, struggling through questions, "working" and searching out my faith, then I honestly think I wouldn't value my free gift of salvation like I do now. We all know the saying "the best things in life are free". But how about this angle... "The best things in life are the ones we value the most." |
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You make a really good point Carol. When it is free, like the air we breathe, we tend to take it for granted. I think it has to do with the fact that the wages of sin is death, so we try to pay our own way. We can't even fathom that there is a way already paid for us. We just know we have a huge debt to pay.
Great thoughts especially for this week... |
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Cheryl |
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March 17, 2008 at 11:08pm |
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This is awesome...and the best thing in life is the free gift Jesus gave us!~
Can't wait for the pics..wanna borrow my camera cable?? love you~ |
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Jhop |
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March 17, 2008 at 11:34pm |
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carebear, i love your latest musings about faith and salvation. it truly is amazing grace. but i am reminded daily how hard it is to follow Christ and His Cross, and that this struggle is what He promised us. it is free, but it will cost us everything because if we value anything more than Christ than we are not worthy of Him (as Wayne and Garth used to say), if we try to save our lives we will lose them, but if we lose our lives for Christ, we will find THE LIFE. 37"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matthew 10:37-39 NIV) |
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Jhop |
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March 17, 2008 at 11:48pm |
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i should add that i don't know how to do any of the things that Jesus says in those verses. i really love my kids and can't imagine loving anyone more. and i daily try to find my life, control my life, live my life, think about my life, and generally see my life as my life with all self-centeredness that i can muster. i also avoid suffering as much as possible. as a matter of fact, i don't know if i can truly say that i have ever really suffered like i was carrying my cross to my crucifixion. unless not having tivo and not being able to play golf whenever i want constitutes suffering. i work hard to protect (find) my comfortable, middle class, suburban, consumer lifestyle. so the question is, what does it mean to lose my life for His sake and how do i do it? |
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KitKat |
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March 18, 2008 at 2:41am |
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| This blog was really inspiring. This is truly an obstace Christians face when marketing the gospel to the world. I jotted down a few thoughts in a blog and included an you tube video in response to what you wrote. Thanks for bringing this thought to light. For those who care to read my blog click here. |
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Julia |
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March 18, 2008 at 10:12am |
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| Wow...you hit the nail on the head with that. We must fight and struggle with our flesh daily to truely understand the value of our Salvation. |
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Kathy |
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March 18, 2008 at 10:15am |
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| Great post, Carol! We do so take for granted our free gifts, including our free salvation and our free-dom! |
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Deb |
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March 18, 2008 at 10:35am |
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| Amen! Awesome post! |
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| This ties in with a discussion we had on my blog about faith not just being a belief - but a belief that is followed by an action. If we don't act on what we believe - what good is it to us? |
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Joey |
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March 18, 2008 at 9:25pm |
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Hi Carol,
What a great blog. I just wanted to say that salvation is free to us... but what a cost is was to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
What an act of love we received. In return, I feel so loved that I want to win others over... to love Him, and know Him and the beautiful life that He has waiting for them. And yes, it is free for them... but they must know the price Jesus paid. |
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| Thanks Carol, definately some points to ponder... |
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Deb |
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March 19, 2008 at 8:20am |
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Excellent, Carol! I love the picture that sets everything off as well. I think your points are well-made. Isn't it just like most people to take so many things for granted--even the freebies? We were taught as children to earn what we wanted by doing things around the house, etc. If we had to work to earn something, we would tend to put much more value into it than if it was given to us without lifting a finger. (Not in all cases, mind you.) It's interesting to see the different value people will place on the same "thing."
The exception would be the special gift given from someone very special to us. These things we treasure and hold on to for years, perhaps a lifetime. I know I do! Maybe the Greatest Gift ever given would fall into this category...
Thanks for a real thought-provoker.
Peace and Blessings,
Deb |
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Thanks for all the comments everyone! Right or wrong, lately I've been thinking about God as this marketing genius. He knows exactly what would push my buttons, what would make me understand and value every part of my faith. I'm obviously still "working" through it and find it difficult sometimes to go through the churning process. For the longest time, I accepted the spoonful of free salvation just as it is. But from a top-level perspective it's so far from free. Christ had to a pay dearly, I have not only believe it, but own it in my heart, and give up control so the Holy Spirit can ingrain it in me. Just like with everything in life, there's so much more beneath the hood. |
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Carol, I think the saying "the best things in life are free" was originally coined to affirm that the very best things are often the things we overlook or take for granted -- such as life, and our salvation!!! Specifically those things which we forget about, and therefore don't value as we should. (Shame on us!) I like what Jhop said as well, essentially if we don't go through life valuing the salvation freely given to us, are we really worthy of it? (yikes!)
Great blog, you sure got me thinkin! |
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Gene |
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March 19, 2008 at 5:24pm |
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Carol,
I like your blog and am getting stuck on your friend's comment:
"If salvation is a free gift from God, why doesn't He make himself obvious to everyone so that everyone could receive this gift?"
I think we also need to remember that Jesus told us that many are called but few are chosen; that the gate is small and the path is narrow. We must look to find the free gifts.
That's one analogy from Easter I really like - the Easter egg hunt. The egg is a symbol for new life and we must look for it although the gift is everywhere! It won't fall in our hands. We need to act. Even free gifts require us to open our hands a little. |
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| Thanks Gene! I had never heard of the Easter egg hunt.. how neat! Maybe I was just never listening in Sunday school :). |
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| Has me thinking for sure. Never quite thought of it from that perspective. I too like the egg hunt analogy from Sir Gene. This was a wonderful Blog..thank you! My mind has been opened. |
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Eric |
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March 24, 2008 at 7:08pm |
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| I'm really excited that your line of work affords you the opportunity to engage in spiritual conversations so often! So jealous!! Keep on workin' for the Lord! |
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Thanks Eric! It is a blessing and even though I never thought I'd be in this kind of position, these situations really allow for open and geniune conversation to happen quicker which is cool because I love getting to know new people. :) |
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