We love the idea of getting something for free, but most “freebies” aren’t really free at all. We trade our time and resources for the “free” veggies we grow in our backyard garden. That “free” healthcare is covered by taxes or premiums. Even the “free” repairs under warranty programs are covered by the higher prices manufacturers charge from their products.
Our title today is “No Strings Attached.” Imagine getting a birthday gift and being told that it’s yours, but only under certain conditions or circumstances. For example, you can have the new car but only as long as you don’t get a ticket. That diamond ring … if you lose ten pounds. The new computer, gaming console, or phone if you manage to keep up with your schoolwork.
Even love can be the same. We’re loved if we smile back. Or make our bed, prepare the meals, launder the clothes, or behave acceptably in public. It doesn’t sound much like love if we must perform to receive it. If we have to be “good” before we’re loved, is it really love? It’s the reason adoptees into a new family will often test the love of their adoptive family by acting out in the worst way. Only when they receive proof that they won’t be rejected no matter how badly they behave can they begin to trust in the love they’ve been told is now theirs.
The love we find in Christ is different. Our proof is found in Romans 5:8:
"While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
We are adopted into God’s family when we believe on Christ and accept his salvation. Yet, we are not immune to needing proof that God really loves us no matter what. In a human family, that proof might look like this:
Your parents make sure you have what you need, even if they have to do without. If they can put a smile on your face, they are content. In essence, they put your welfare and comfort above theirs.
Your parents give up their sleep so you can dream in safety and security. As a baby, of course, but also as you grow older. They stay up late sorting out the bills, packing for the next day’s trip, or assembling your Christmas gifts.
They put their goals and hobbies on hold to allow you to pursue yours. Perhaps fewer work hours, letting yard maintenance go for an extra week, or taking you out for pizza instead of to the steak house they prefer.
They take off work or cancel a trip when you are sick. They spend hours sitting up with you, taking you to the dentist, or treating you for the scratches and bruises all children get.
You become their social life. Their old set of friends have to slot into your life, rather than you slotting into theirs. Staying up late, partying … out the window. Life becomes about you.
They share the last slice of pie … the last chip … the last soda in the fridge. They don’t even complain, often saying, “Take it. I’m not hungry, anyway.” You believe them just as they want you to. Anyway, it’s the truth, because if you want it, they no longer do.
They give up their privacy to let you crawl into bed with them when you are frightened at night. They save for your future, perhaps in a college fund, rather than for themselves. They take a deep breath when you damage something they treasure, spill an embarrassing secret, or hog the television for your latest show; and all they say is, “It’s okay. It’s just stuff … information … a TV show.”
Essentially, they give you all of them without expecting you to do or be anything more than their child. That’s God’s unbreakable love when we come to him in repentance and ask him to cleanse us from our wrongdoing, from the times we’ve broken something, said the wrong thing, or taken time away from him for some silly purpose that we deemed more important.
No strings attached.
As we read in Romans 5:8, “While we were still sinners …” God didn’t hold up a hand, push us away, and say, “When you’re all cleaned up …” Rather, he reached out to us instead with, “Come just as you are. I love you already.”
The ultimate freebie, and he offers it to us.
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