The things that are freely given

1 Corinthians 2:12

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

The best things we have are all free. And yet! And yet! The majority of people don’t want them. It is preposterous to the veriest degree. It is exceedingly foolish that we are willing to pay dearly for that which is worth next to nothing, but the things that are freely given are left of many without a second thought. This is tragically devastating! Because here we are told that the things of God are freely given to us. We may have them! But they are only available through His Spirit. Perhaps this is the reason so many have no desire toward such things. The Holy Spirit must engender the desire, for it is only through Him that one can truly understand the deep things of God. They are available, but only through the Spirit of God. To the natural man, these things are foolish. For eye hath not seen, and ear hath not heard, and it hath not entered into the heart of man. So I must digress from my previous statements, for a natural person has no inclination, tendency, penchant, or propensity toward the things of God. That is why! That is why! God has revealed to us why so many refuse that which is freely given.

Freely given! I must ask you this day, have you taken these things as you would help yourself to a buffet of food, or to a supply of water, or to a boon of produce if it was labeled FREE? Would you not fill your baskets, your bags, and your cartons with all that could fit? I ask you. I ask you very seriously: are you filling your heart with the things of God? Are you filling your mind with the wonderful, glorious, and heavenly things that God has made accesssible and available to the child of God? Or have you instead filled your mind and heart with the weak and beggarly elements of this world? Have you filled your mind with that which will one day cost you dearly in your life and in the life of your children? The things of this world and the appetites of the flesh will corrupt your mind, taint your heart, and mar the beautiful life that God has freely given you. Do not pay for something lesser than you could have for free. Take that which is freely given by the Holy Spirit.

However, I must give one necessary statement lest I be misunderstood and ridiculed for an inconsistent and incomplete thought. To know the things of God and to live in the Spirit, which is contrary to the tide of this entire world, will cost you the comforts and companionship of the world. You will need to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him. But this cost is worth the price of it. And you will, once you begin to feast on the wondrous things of God which are revealed unto us by His Spirit, know with all your heart that those things which are free amount to an infinitely greater value than that which this world will tempt and allure you with. The cost of following Christ and knowing the deep things of God and His mysteries will make all else seem undesirable and valueless. My friend, only strive for those things which are freely given to us of God! Thy life shall be increased and thy mind marvelously transformed.

“We thank Thee, Father, for the things which are given to us freely of God. We pray that we would feast on those things daily, and that our appetite for the eternal and spiritual things of God may be greatly increased and exponentially multiplied. May we not desire the things of this world any more, but may we pant for and long for and eagerly receive the things that are freely given to us of God. And we trust you for these things. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”