A Free Gift

Sometimes a girl just needs a chocolate croissant. Today was one of those days. I had some time during a break at work to take a long walk and thanks to that wonderful thing called "girl-logic" I decided the reward for my healthy walk would be the pastry I had been craving since morning.

There is a Wholefoods not far from where I work and, still a bit breathless from my trek, I made my way into their bakery section. I was distracted by some other possibilities, but ended up following my original plan and picked out the biggest chocolate croissant they had. I slipped the delicious flakiness into a bag and made my way to the checkout line. A young man waved me on and I put my bag onto the counter. He rang it up and I pulled some money from my pocket.

Then he did something surprising. He said, "Don't worry about it-no charge." I didn't know how to react. I asked him why and he said, "Just because." I profusely thanked him- I told him that he and the chocolate croissant I was about to sink my teeth into had literally made my day.  I walked away and texted my daughter about the encounter.  I told her it must be because of my sassy new haircut. The absurdity of that made her day.

I got into my office and told each of my coworkers about my free dessert.

That's when it hit me. Receiving something without cost is shocking in today's culture and it makes us tell someone about the experience.

Why then are we so hesitant to tell people of the most amazing gift we have ever received? The world needs to know about the free gift of God's salvation. They need to hear about grace and mercy and forgiveness and the wild love of the Savior. We need to share with them the gift we ourselves have received, the gift of hope.

Christianity is the only hope for this broken world because there’s no other way for the broken to get the Nails they need to rebuild.~ Ann Voskamp

We have received an amazing free gift, so why in the world aren't we telling everyone we meet? And, just as importantly, what are we going to do about it?

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story.   Psalm 107:2

Cyndi Word