From A Park Bench - Admission Is Free

There is always a price for everything; my father always told me that nothing in this life is for free. Even the best deals still have a charge.  The local Cineworld in Eastbourne does a Saturday morning children’s deal, just one pound per adult and child for the movie.

It is the same for most attractions I visit; there is always an admission price. I don’t mind paying the price and it means I can have access to everything I want to see.

Religion tells me that I have to pay an admission price to get God’s grace. Religion tells me that without certain things I have to do I cannot receive God’s blessings.

So what does religion want of me – Holiness, being good, attending church, praying, giving my tithe all these things and more will give me access to God’s blessings.

But religion is full of law, full of self-righteousness, full of what I have to do.  The truth is that Christ has paid the admission price with his death and that sacrifice is our access to God.

The grace of God is free and is offered free to everyone. There are no exceptions, everyone who is born has exactly the same access, and there is no price, no cost, because Christ at the cross paid the admission price with his death.

All I have to ‘do’ is receive the sacrifice of Jesus and trust in him. It is just my ‘thank you’ to grab all Christ has won. This is ‘faith’ receiving and believing in Christ and it’s not my work but God’s work in me.  It’s not how much faith I have, how much I believe, it is not by my works, it is all by his grace and my acceptance of his righteousness.

The admission price has been paid, the access is free, I just believe and receive all God’s grace.