Freely given

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. – 1 Corinthians 2.10-12

Indeed, no one has seen or heard or imagined all these wonderful things, but the Holy Spirit has revealed their prospect to us. We know those things because we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us. These are great and revealing truths.

It is the very last phrase that really catches my eye in this verse though. The things that we can know are the things that we 'freely given' us by God.

When I read about anything being 'freely given' by a perfect and holy God to wretched miserable sinners it has to catch my eye. I have to ask myself a very simple question - why?

Why would the creator God of the universe freely give Roger, a sinner, anything?

There is no reason that makes any real sense according to human wisdom.

But it does make perfect sense in God’s wisdom. God gives us freely because there is no other way to get what He desires for us. We can’t earn it. We simply can do nothing about it. It makes sense because God is love and He loves us enough to give us all the things that ‘eye cannot see or ear cannot hear or hearts cannot imagine.’

Praise God He loves me enough to give freely, for otherwise there would be no hope.