The Gift That Refused a Price Tag

In 1989, a British computer scientist named Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web while working at CERN in Geneva. What he did next changed history. He could have patented it. Lawyers told him the licensing fees alone would have made him one of the wealthiest people on the planet. Every website, every search, every online transaction would have owed him a royalty. Instead, Berners-Lee insisted the Web be released for free — no patent, no licensing, no restrictions. He believed that for the Web to truly connect humanity, it had to belong to everyone.

Today, billions of people access information, build businesses, and stay connected because one man refused to put a price on his invention. Freedom, real freedom, only works when it is given without strings attached.

Paul understood this when he wrote to the Galatians: "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1). The freedom Christ offers is not a subscription service with hidden fees. There is no premium tier. No terms and conditions buried in fine print. It was purchased at the highest possible cost — and then handed to us freely.

The next time you open a browser, remember: the most transformative gifts are the ones given without restriction. And the greatest freedom ever offered already has your name on it.