You Qualify

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Is. 55:1)

The invitation to Christ and His hospitality really is this wide open: everyone who thirsts, come. Are you thirsty? Come. So anyone who knows they need Jesus can come. In fact, Jesus says that’s the one prerequisite. Jesus told the Jews one time that if they knew they were blind, then He would make them see, but if they didn’t think they were blind, then they actually were blind.

So, are you a sinner? Then come. Have you sinned grievously? Have you sinned badly? Then come. You qualify. This is a table for sinners because Jesus is the friend of sinners. If you don’t think you’re that bad, then you probably aren’t coming with the right kind of faith. The right kind of faith sees Jesus as a pool of clean, cool water and knows that only Jesus can make you clean. If you look down and see the grime and scum of lust and envy and hatred and malice and bitterness and lies, and you hate all of it, and you want to be clean, then come, the water is clean and the water is free. 

And don’t miss that: come everyone who has no money, come buy and eat, come buy and drink wine without price. This feast is free to anyone who wants it. To anyone who wants to be forgiven, the forgiveness is free. The food is free. Again, the only qualification is that you realize that you have no money. If you think that you could probably buy this meal somewhere else, then you aren’t coming with the right kind of faith. 

The right kind of faith knows that you can’t buy this anywhere else and you could never afford it. You could never afford this kind of love, this kind of forgiveness, this kind of mercy, this kind of blessing. 

And when you realize that what Jesus offers, you could never pay for, Jesus says, come, you qualify. You qualify for this grace. Because that’s what it is: undeserved, unmerited, unpaid for mercy, kindness, blessing without measure, without end. So come and welcome to Jesus Christ. 

Photo by mrjn Photography on Unsplash