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If you go to any modern sporting event, there's a good chance that at some point during that event, an announcement will be made that will drive people to go absolutely crazy. What is the announcement? It'll be that there are free t-shirts being given away. At Blue Jackets games, the arena goes absolutely crazy. At Reds games, a cart with a giant t-shirt cannon drives around while people lose their minds. All for a free t-shirt that likely doesn't fit.
People love free stuff. My favorite announcer for the Reds used to talk about watching someone ruin a $300 suit for a $3 baseball hit into the stands. There are things people would pass by if it cost $2, but they'll grab it and go for free!
But when it comes to the Gospel, we've been struggling with free grace since the beginning. It feels like it should cost something, like we should have to do something to earn it. We can't wrap our minds around the Gospel being given for free, and so when preachers come and start putting conditions on grace, that somehow speaks to some anxiety we have in our hearts and we listen and we follow. It makes sense that we'd have to give up something to get something.
But grace is free. That's the Gospel. Any other message is not the Gospel.
So may we go wild with joy at what God has freely given us.
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