The Gratuity of God’s Invitation

Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”

His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

The woman said to him, “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the well is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?”

Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”-John 4:5-15

The Gratuity of God’s Invitation

We are all invited, to behold God’s grace. We are all invited to heaven. We are all invited to be perfect. This the gratuity of God’s invitation, It is always free. All we need is to be in need.

In his ministry, Christ served the unwanted, the unloved, the outcast and the hated. He refused no one. He granted healing to the servant of the Centurian and to the daughter of the synagogue leader with equal measure. His apostles were poor and rich, one, the wife of Herod’s steward. The only thing that they had in common was they heard and believed his message. And what was his message? New life. A life free from condemnation.

Every year we come to that place where we celebrate renewal. New year. New opportunities. New relationships. We let go of the old, of the things that happened in the previous 365 days. I have friends who lost their husbands or wives. People who have lost a parent, a sibling or a child. Some folks switched jobs or retired. Some even lost their identities, not knowing which way to turn in this world.

Because I’m older now, there is more loss in my life and maybe a little less hope. I see myself in the last quarter of my life, but for some reason, I’m not worried. After years of rebellion and lukewarm faith, I have found my way home. I have accepted God’s invitation without question.

God’s invitation is always free. I know lots of people who cannot fathom that knowing that there must be some catch. I have been that way because in the world, there is always a price. The world figures out what we want and holds us hostage. It’s not about what we want, about the things we want for a more comfortable life. It is about what we need. Renewal. Rescue. Redemption.

So, take a breath and turn the new year over to God. Accept this gratuity of God’s invitation.