THERE IS A FREE LUNCH!!

      I invite you to envision a couple as they stand at the corner of "Easy" Street and "It's All About You" Avenue... and look around the adorable town square. "Look," the woman says, "There's a 'Free Lunch Cafe.' It's over by the 'Cure All' pharmacy, and just across the road from the 'Days of Wine and Roses' lodge." "You're right, dear," the man replies, "It's all perfect, easy, and free. I like this place!" Indeed. Who wouldn't? But there is NO free lunch! Isn't that the truth of it? Doesn't everyone know that? And don't we all know... that if it seems too good to be true... it (probably) is? Of course, we all know that there is no free lunch, nor a free anything at all... because everything has a cost. It may be hidden. It may be in the fine print. It may be down the road; it may come in the form of a deal or a payback; it may be I'll-love-me-as-long-as-you-love-you; or I'll-pay-this-time-if you'll-pay-next-time... but nothing is ever... really free... EXCEPT for the very best things in life. Surprisingly, the very best things in life are free, like life itself, which is a priceless gift- every moment of it- and we do nothing to earn it. It just comes. We arrive... and breathe in free air... and bask in sunlight that's also free! And if we're fortunate enough to love and be loved- we're rich indeed and it costs nothing. Neither does a child's smile, or our dog greeting me, every time I come home, with a toy in her mouth. A prayer is free, loyalty is free... and God's love is free! Always has been. In the beginning, God set us in a paradise... and asked for nothing down. He walked with us in the garden- in the afternoon- and there was no charge. He sent his prophets, through whom he freely gave of Himself, and the Bible says that He loved us so much that he sent his Son... to forgive us and to invite us to spend forever with Him... and neither His sacrifice nor His invitation costs us a dime!
      Somehow, somewhere, along the line, someone convinced us that we have to be "good enough," for God's love. Some people believe that the good news is the "too-good-to-be-true" news because it's simple and free! It doesn't seem possible to get everything... for nothing- so many people spend their lives trying to earn, or buy, or deserve...what God has always offered freely- which is His love, forgiveness, new beginnings, and forever. Friends, it's God's nature to love...wait... forgive... invite... and feed us ... free of charge. God has a free lunch- at least one that's free to us. It's a banquet fit for kings and queens... and it's totally free... with no fine print, no hidden charges. If you're thirsty, God said, come to the waters. (Isa. 55) If you're parched, if your throat is dry, if you're stumbling through a desert, if you are straining to climb a steep hill... come to me (He said) for a drink of living water. And if you have no money- that's right, none at all- come into my banquet room, where you will dine on the finest fillets... and the bread of life. If you're hungry, if you need strength, if you've been starving for something that sustains you, if you're tired of junk food, speak right up and order the best heaven has to offer... because the bread of life is FREE. Come into my dining hall... and buy wine or milk without cost. Yes, it's all free.
      Come to His table with a sense of joy... because your Lord has prepared a place for you- a place that you need to be in. Friends, when it comes to financial matters, there really is no free lunch. Even most relationships are conditional and they fall apart without reciprocity. We live in a world where we have to be vigilant and wary, on guard and suspect, lest someone takes advantage of us. We live in a world where complete forgiveness never happens and in which it's impossible to really start over. Thus, we struggle to be heard, hide secrets that would give others an edge, and work diligently to pay our own way. It's a rat-race...in which no one wins and everyone loses... because it is forgiveness, acceptance, and a free lunch that we need more than anything... which is why God's Son hung on His cross... and why we feed and drink on the very essence of God during the meal we call the Lord's Supper... which is offered to those who are hungry and thirsty... without cost! This is the Lord's Table. So come, eat, and drink, without money. Come with a sense of community, knowing that you will be communing with Christians in all times and places. Come with a sense of joy, knowing that this meal is a foretaste of the great banquet we will share with God face-to-face; and come with a sense of poverty, knowing that the meal has already been paid in full. Leave your wallets alone. Don't open your purses... because this meal IS FREE! Amen.
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