A Handout

Interestingly enough, I discovered this week that people, in general, fight the idea of free. There appears to be a fear of the handout.

For example, at my place of employment we were offering customers a card that provided them with a code for a free music download. Almost without fail, every person would respond,"what's the catch?"

This morning a friend of mine from LHC was telling me about his experience handing out free toothbrushes in the community. He said he had a man raise his voice at him declaring that NOTHING IS FREE. There were even a contigent of girl scouts selling leftover cookies who commented on the situation, "We are having better luck selling stuff than you are giving it away free."

I surmise that there exist a "strings-attached" syndrome. Maybe it's a lack of trust or just a simple guilt complex where we feel a sense of "IOU" regardless. Maybe the American way has taken root: if you want something you work hard to get it. Perhaps, people have simply lost the understanding of charity. I believe the more likely issue is pride.

This week's events have led me to begin to understand people's subtle and outright refusal of the Gospel. In the Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning states, "Jesus comes not for the super-spiritual but for the wobbly and the weakkneed who know they don't have it all together, and who are not too proud to accept the handout of amazing grace." Read that line again. Yahweh's amazing, matchless, uncomprehendable grace is a handout. That's right friends Yahweh hands out His grace as a free gift. No, you don't work to earn it. You don't just happen onto it. You don't even ask first. Yahweh hands you grace. But that doesn't make it cheap.

Go ahead, let the handout image take root. I'll even help. When most us of hear the word" handout" we immediately assume poor, needy, some when even goes as far to say, "those who are looking for an easy way out." You got that visual... Good, welcome to grace.

People accept handouts because their need overrules their pride. The only sense the needy know takes the shape of desperate. A person in real need becomes reckless-abandon in getting what is required for survival. The recognized need must be met and will readily be done so through whatever means necessary. Yes, even a handout. And no fellow skeptics, it's not stealing when you take something that has been freely offerred.

And for those of us who suffer from the "strings-attached" syndrome, you are justified but only on the past tense. Christ cut the strings when He gave His life on a tree. He took our curse. What we should have had to work for in terms of the Law... He fulfilled with His complete obedience even into death. The moment his life was cut short by death on the cross, so were the strings. So, I remind you this handout of grace is not cheap. It came at the price of life. I know your still wondering. Thats cool, let's consider the otherside of the coin. Now that I've taken the handout, what next?

The beauty of free grace... no expectations. Let's use logic here for a moment, the most likely thing to occur when you accept a handout is you take advantge of possessing it. If someone handed you a million dollars you would effectively put it to use. When people accept the handout of grace they are overwhelming compelled to experience it fully. And that's when life gets interesting... A free gift of grace transforms you into a being who is indeed free. Free from the eternal bondage of sin and it's effects (death, seperation, shame, etc). Free from oh yes religious expectations. Free from any type of limitation. Admit it, the whole "free" idea completely scares you. I bet it even makes you uncomfortable.

You're thinking to yourself: Thats just not kosher. You right, it's not. It's grace and by the way, did i mention it's a handout? Don't let the hand of God scare you... He holds life in it and He's offereing it to you, and to everyone who has need. He does reach down to give you punishment and take away everythingnwe consider as life. Quite the contrary, He offers life more abundant. Aren't you tires of living in a cage? You know you want to be free, but are you ready to admit you need to be free? Yahweh's hand is out and it's free for you...
Ready to take a handout?

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