This week is the Fond du Lac County Fair. We decided as a church to set up a booth in the Expo building and have a drawing for free prizes. We went to Menards and bought a bunch of garden related items such as a hose, sprinkler, plants, and flower pots to give away as free prizes. Our grand prize is a one night stay at the Holiday Inn with a gift certificate for dinner. In all, I believe we had over 30 prizes to give away. Well, Becca and I had to man the booth on Thursday from 1:00-10:30. We had put up signs saying what our prizes were and expected people to flock in trying to win these free prizes. Well when we asked people if they wanted to sign-up, so many of them said, "no thanks" and kept walking past. No thanks! Why would you pass up a chance to win a free night at the holiday inn and free dinner! Being the good Dutchman that I am, whenever I go to events such as this, I sign my name up at every single booth. I don't care if my prize is a bottle of lotion or a cute picture frame! If its free I'll sign up! Becca and I were utterly confused as to why people would just pass by. The world really is lacking in Dutch people.
I believe that part of the reason is that "free" doesn't really mean free anymore. There is always a catch or something in the fine print. You can have this free gift, once you spend $50 at our store. Or, you can have this free gift if you let us set up an appointment with you and 5 of your friends. Is this why people have a hard time accepting Christ? God's grace is freely given to us. In Ephesians Paul tells us that we are saved by grace through faith. We did nothing to earn this, it was freely given to us. But as Christians sharing the good news, how are we telling people about this free gift? Do we tell them its a free gift but there are a few strings attached? Yes, you can be saved, but first you have to move out of your girl/boyfriend's house. Yes, you can be saved, but first you have dress up nice and come to church every Sunday. Or, you can be saved but first you have to quit using drugs or doing other addictive behaviors. Why don't we share with others the good news about God's grace being freely given to everyone and let their lives be transformed by the new relationship they have with Jesus Christ? The Christian life is not about following rules and regulations but about letting God take over and completely living for him.
Anyway, despite the many non-Dutch people who passed by, there were still a good number of people who stopped to talk. We had a few good conversations and hopefully when the winners come in to pick up their prizes, we will be able to share with them a little more about The Garden.
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