No Free Lunch
“There is no such thing as a free lunch.”
Most likely, on your first day of Economics 101, you will walk away with this quote in your brain. It is one of the fundamental principals of economics. And I’ve always loved this quote. Essentially, nothing is truly free. It may seem free to you, but someone somewhere is paying for it.
This principle is true both economically and spiritually. In the church, we talk a lot about the “free” gift of salvation. Yes, it is in one sense free because we do not earn it or pay for it. The truth, however, is that salvation came and comes at a high cost. First, Jesus Christ stepped out of heaven and humbly walked on earth among people. While He remained fully God, He gave up the benefits of residing only in heaven. He chose to experience the ups and downs of the human experience.
Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:6-8 BSB
More importantly, as verse 8 points out, Christ took on our punishment and died for us. He literally paid our debt so we could accept this free gift. Our sin, charged to Him. Paid in full.
But that isn’t all. Salvation comes at the cost of our lives, too. We must lay down our own lives and follow Him.
For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
Galatians 2:20 NIV
There is grace when we fail, but we are called to surrender ourselves to Him. I’ve heard it said that God loves you exactly as you are, but He loves you too much to leave you that way. Our own will and way is the cost, but it is completely worth it.
I love this free lunch quote because it reminds me to be deeply grateful for anything that is apparently free. I’m grateful for the freedoms that come with living in the USA; someone paid. I was blessed to have an education; thank you, tax payers. Even every “free” Chick-fil-A item I “earn” through the app; someone (me, them) paid. You get it? The seemingly silliest of things like clean water at restaurants is free to me. I’m eternally grateful because other parts of the world are going without clean water. How can I not be, at the very least, humbled and thankful?
And then there is the One who gave His life for me. How can I show my gratitude? Do I cast off restraint and live as I please doing whatever feels good? Or do I realize that a high price was paid for my freedom and live truly free? Do I seek to lay down my desires and my plans and my sin and my shame for something better? I echo the apostle Paul’s words:
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Philippians 3:12 NIV
I do not want to take the sacrifice that Christ made for me, for us, for granted. I want to appreciate it and show my gratitude by living a life that honors the Lord, allowing Christ to live through me.
One of the worst feelings is when you pay good money for something and are unhappy with the purchase. I’ve purchased products, clothes, books, and more that I’ve been disappointed with because the cost was high and what I received wasn’t “worth” it in the end. Well, I don’t want that to be my life. Someone died for me, and I want to be worth it. Thankfully, Jesus calls us worthy whether we deserve it or not, but I can’t help but want to show my love and gratitude through a life that is lived for Jesus.
Would you join me in making 2021 a year where we live radically for Jesus, always remembering the great price that was paid?
You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV
