Free. No strings attached.  No hidden fees or conditions.  Who doesn’t like to get something for nothing?  Nobody I know.  I was always told that nothing in life is free, and that there were no free lunches in life.  Well, I’ve lived long enough to know that there is some truth to these statements.

The month of March is known for two annual “free” events.  First, I-hop offers a stack of three buttermilk pancakes for free on National Pancake Day (which this year is March 7, 2017). The second is a free small water-ice from Rita’s Water-Ice on the first day of Spring (which falls on March 2).  Technically, in the case of I-hop’s National Pancake Day, while the pancakes themselves won’t cost you anything, you are asked to make a donation to a charity to help fight leukemia. Most people out of a sense of decency will give something. Also, if you ever plan to get food at the particular I-hop that you went to, you know it is a good idea to leave a tip for your waiter as they or their co-workers will certainly remember you.

As Christians we believe that salvation is a free gift given to us by Jesus. In Ephesians 2:8 from the King James Bible it states: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God.” Free to us, but paid at a high cost when Jesus’ precious blood was voluntarily shed on a cross at Calvary.  The old Baptist hymn “I Am Redeemed”  written by Jessy Dixon says it plainly, “I am redeemed bought with a price, Jesus has changed my whole life, if anybody asked you just who I am, tell them I am redeemed.”

So as we go through the month if March enjoying the “free” things that it has to offer, find a little time to thank God for the “free gift” of salvation given to us because of the selfless sacrifice made by His son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Blessings.