I don't care what economics might tell you—there are some things in life that are truly free.
When I was getting my blueberry bagel at Einstein's this morning, the woman behind me in line was getting pretty heated up about something, so I couldn't help but listen in on her ranting. She was complaining to the guy behind the counter that she wasn't charged for something. She kept going on and on about how upset she was that she received something for free. The nerve!
"I don't want this! I don't like getting things without paying for them! I can't accept things that are free!"
Now, I know I probably should have just stayed out of it completely, but I sometimes can't control the things that come out of my mouth. This was one of those awkward moments.
"What about love? That's free."
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| I'd take this freely. |
She stopped her banter with the manager for a second to give me a look that I thought might actually pierce right through me. I think I even saw a little bit of fire spark.
"Excuse me?"
I just couldn't help myself.
"I mean, even J-Lo says her love don't cost a thing."
The look she was giving me started getting worse, so I just smiled and wished her a happy Monday. I can't say I was too shocked when she didn't offer me the same.
It isn't often that I hear people complaining about accepting things that don't cost them anything at all, so it got me thinking a little about how people actually do it more often than I imagined. My economics teacher in high school tried to tell me that "there's no such thing as a free lunch," and she emphasized how people actually always have to pay something whether they know it or not. Even though I didn't hit a home run on that AP test, I still argue that she's wrong.
Because she couldn't answer my Jesus question.
Jesus paid the debt for our sin, so we don't have to pay anything at all. Nothing, nada, zilch, zippo. I suppose that's the point I was hoping to get across this morning to the lady at the bagel shop, but I don't think my J-Lo reference struck the nail on the head on that one. I probably should have asked her to sit down and eat our bagels together so we could talk about it more, even though she didn't want to eat whatever was in her little bag that was mistakenly given to her. And I know she wasn't my biggest fan at the time, but it could have been fun.
Just like our soul sista Jennifer Lopez, the love of Jesus "don't cost a thing." And His love is the greatest we'll ever know.
But I think all true love is just the same: whether or not someone actually returns it, the love offered comes without cost for those receiving it. Screech freely gave his love to Lisa for years, even though she usually threw nothing but meanness back in his face; Pepé le pew continues to chase Penelope the kitty and offer his love unconditionally, despite her wanting to have nothing to do with him; and Forrest continually pursued Jenny and showed her countless acts of love, even after she broke his heart on multiple occasions.
I hope more people will let the truth set them free—even if they don't like things that don't come with costs.
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