Cheap or free?

 The other day, as I walked down the almost deserted path, I met this man. I did not recognize him immediately because his head was turned to the ground and it seemed he was deep in thought, deeper than I could imagine. As he stood along the path, he occasionally engaged in some monologue. You can imagine, I stood there for two minutes but he didn't notice my presence. I guessed things had gone south.

I took a closer look and I recognized him. He was actually our neighbor. What could have gone wrong? My right foot made the first bold step and the left one followed suit, I tapped him on the back. Alas! He was shocked. "Sorry, how did you get here, I did not even realize?" he asked after some eerie silence. "Baba Dan, is everything alright, what is up? You look despondent, can I help?", I found these words coming out without much struggle. " Yes, nothing is alright....sorry, I meant everything is okay. Don't worry."

Thank God, Baba Dan opened up to reveal the cause of all that. "Well, since you are still a young man, I think it is equally relevant to share this with you. It is all about my son, Dan. I have tried all I can to make him better. I wish the best for Him because I love him. I took him to school for him to be educated in order to secure a bright future. I do sacrifice even my pleasure just to pay his school fees. Last month, I sold my two cows just to clear his fees, I can sell anything to ensure he is in school and continues with his education.

 But.....my son doesn't recognize this, he takes all this for granted. He is loose and does not put any effort into his academics. He is into all sorts of misconduct. I think it is because it doesn't cost him anything, he does not feel a pinch of paying fees so he thinks it's free and he is free to take education the way he wants. When advised, he doesn't listen and if he cares to listen, he discards the advice as quickly as counting 123. Education is expensive, he shouldn't take it cheaply because it has not cost him anything. You see....." Just a minute Baba Dan, let me ask my reader to help you, If you were Baba Dan, what would you do?

I kept pondering about this conversation as I remembered Our Father. Because He loved us that much, He was ready to go to any extent to redeem us. He did the very last thing a father can risk doing; He sacrificed His own son for our sake. It was our fault but His love was beyond man's fault. He paid it with His Son, the son paid it with His own life, what a sacrifice!! And He made the condition very simple, 'believe and be saved'. He made salvation available not only to anyone but also to everyone, free. This doesn't mean salvation is cheap to be taken for granted. Just because it did not cost me and you anything does not mean it is cheap, no. It was so expensive that we could not afford to pay. Someone paid for us heavily, once and for all. The Bible says, "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.'(Gal 5:13) Remember this; when the enemy looks at the magnitude of sin committed to condemn you, He looks at the magnitude of the price paid and calls you, "Come, let us reason together. "Mmm......, this is reality.