FREE DRINKS: AN ETERNAL HAPPY HOUR

"Is anyone thirsty?
Come and drink—
even if you have no money!
Come, take your choice of wine or milk—
it’s all free!
Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?
Why pay for food that does you no good?
Listen to me, and you will eat what is good.
You will enjoy the finest food.”
-Isaiah 55:1-2

I have a phrase with Terri that we share all the time. Why do we call the Lord wise and then don’t do what He says? He tells us to do things a certain way, we do them another, and then end up in a big mess. Let’s think about this. We have the creator of the universe, who by and through which everything in the world was made. Not only did He create everything tangible, i.e. trees, animals and the earth, but He also created things intangible, i.e. radio waves, wave currents, and man’s intelligence. Given this, maybe He knows a little bit more about the world than we do. Not only is He the perfect creator, He is also the perfect communicator. He has chosen to communicate with us about how we can live our lives so that we maximize the efficiency of everything He has created for us. If a cookie recipe calls for you to use ½ cup of sugar, you wouldn’t use a whole cup would you? So when the Lord (the author of the spiritual recipe of life) asks us to trust Him, why do we lean on our own skills, talents, and abilities?

In this passage, the Lord asks a simple question. Is anyone thirsty? Have you been thirsty? If you have, you probably didn’t go to the cupboard and reach for peanut butter, did you? No, you went right to the refrigerator and got some water. Well, that’s the Lord’s response. If you’re thirsty, come and drink. Are you thirsty for the Lord? Then why are you drinking gossip instead of wholesome talk? Jay-Z instead of Donnie McClurkin? That gritty romance novel instead of God’s Word? If you’re really at a point of thirst that is life-threatening, drinking the wrong thing can be worse for you than not drinking at all.

The thing I love about God is the drink that He offers is not only free, it’s the choicest drink. We can come and drink of whole milk and fine wine without paying for it. Jesus told the woman at the well that the water He offers would cause her to never thirst again. The more we drink of things that temporarily satisfy, the more we long for those things. It’s like a fly being caught in a web. Once he’s in the web, the more he wrestles to try to get out the more entangled he actually becomes. At that point only a complete diffusion of the web or an indulgence from the spider will save the poor fly. One option brings life, the other death.

Are you caught in a web of addiction? A web of negative talking? A web of distractions? A web of sin even? My question to you is why spend your money [or resources] on food that does not give you strength? Come and buy of the Lord. Not only is his food free but it tastes better!

~Jake Greene