As is

I was at the mall recently. It's one of the least likely places you will find me but I was there. I went on my lunch hour to avoid the crowds. At the last minute, a friend went with me which made it much more pleasant.

While I was there I noticed they were giving away some free things if you spent a certain amount. Part of the promotion was that you could choose between a couple different items. As I was checking out and my sales person was bagging my items, she apologized for no longer having the choice as they had run out of one of them. I said it was OK. She just kept apologizing. The rest of the conversation when kind of like this:

Me: It's really OK. I know some people may have a problem with not having the choice, but it's really not a big deal for me. I didn't come here for free stuff.

Her: Really?

Me: Really. I mean, it's free.

Her coworker: Did she really just say that?

Her: Yes. (to me) Oh, we like you. Will you come back? We never hear that, do we?

Her coworker: No. Never.

They just went on and on about how people don't respond that way. She then gave me extra free stuff. I tried to refuse it but she insisted so I gave it to my friend who was gracious enough to go with me. She practically begged me to come back.

It really got me thinking about the gift God gave. He offers the free gift of salvation to us - all we need to do is accept it, as is. The problem is, we try to make it into something it was not intended to be. We smile, and say thank you, but then we think it's not quite right. Maybe we make it into a set of rules we have to follow. Maybe we think of it as a "get out of jail free" card, and go on living our lives the way we want with no concern for Him at all. Maybe it's saying certain parts of the Bible apply to us and others don't.

We want to custom order the free gift, with only the accessories we think will fit into our plans. Problem is, the plan isn't really ours. The gift isn't customizable. You can't make it better. You can't make it worse. Jesus is perfect, as is.