“There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch!”
A well-known phrase, indeed. And, sadly, usually true.
But I have here a great piece by my friend John J. Withington, where the idea is challenged: Jesus invites us to the free lunch!
Here’s the piece in its entirety:
NO MERE RELIGION
Jesus Christ is NOT just another religious figure. He is not a cow-eyed weakling with a nice, but in the end unrealistic, idea about the power of human kindheartedness. Nor is he just another great moral teacher who stirred human hearts to rise to a higher level of social responsibility.
No, when we talk about Jesus Christ we are talking about the eternal source of ALL things (Hebrews 1:2-3), and more than that, he is also the redeemer, the purifier, the fixer of all things, who by dying and rising reconciled the whole out-of-kilter universe to God (Colossians 1:20). Jesus Christ is the one who made everything that is, who keeps it ALL in existence every moment, and who takes all its sin on himself to completely redeem it—INCLUDING you and me. He came to us as one of us to make us into what he created us to be.
Jesus is NOT just another religious figure, and the gospel is NOT just another religion. The gospel is NOT a new and improved set of rules, formulas and guidelines to get us in good with an otherwise bilious, ill-tempered Supreme Being; it is the end of religion.
Religion is bad news; it tells us that the gods (or God) are hopping mad and if we do this, that and the other thing just right, then they (or he) will change their minds and smile on us. But the gospel is not religion: it is God’s own good news to humanity.
It declares ALL sin forgiven and every man, woman and child God’s friend. It is a golden invitation on a silver platter to anybody and everybody who has sense enough to believe it and accept it (1 John 2:2).
“But there’s no such thing as a free lunch,” you say. Well, actually, there is, and this is it. It’s not only a free lunch, it’s a free banquet, and it lasts FOREVER . You don’t need anything to get in but trust in the One who is throwing the party.