*Freedom

Our country is the way it is today because of our freedom. Freedom allows us to do great things without restriction. This quote puts the ultimate meaning of freedom in a nutshell:

"The anchor in our world today is freedom, holding us steady in times of change, a symbol of hope to all the world."
            --GEORGE H.W. BUSH, State of the Union Address, Jan. 31, 1990

Freedom is vital, but what happens when we overuse our freedom?

In a classroom, if a teacher gives the kids too much freedom, nobody learns anything. If policeman gave lawbreakers too much freedom, crime goes rampant. This is the same in our lives, if we take advantage of our freedom, we can use it as an excuse. It could get to the point that we  feel that we can do anything we want to, regardless of whether it right or wrong.

I read this passage in my devotions a while ago, and I liked it so much I wrote in on my mirror to see every morning.

"Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as a servant of God."
          --1 Peter 2:16

Now the first part of this verse makes perfect sense to me. We can't use our freedom as an excuse to do evil things, but the " live as a servant of God" part stumped me for a while. What does freedom have to do with being a servant of God?

After a while I started to think about what we could do with our freedom. Then I got the connection. 

I don't think that Peter is talking about the freedom that we get from our country, our freedom to live without oppression, to be free to do great things. I think he is talking about the freedom that God gives us to make a choice. To love him, or to ignore him, and refuse that he exists.

Part of the choice God gave us is to love him. We serve God because we love him. And that, my friend, is where the connection lies.

Bottom line: We can't take advantage of the choice God has given us, we need to use the opportunities he gives us to love him, and we show that love through our acts of service to him.

Thanks for reading!

*Lea

Comments

  1. Thought-stirring post, Lea. It makes me think of Eleanor Roosevelt's quote: "With freedom comes responsibility." It's so true. But as flawed humans, it often takes us several tries to learn (and re-learn) this--at various stages of life.
    Congratulations on your new blog.

    Blessings,
    Candace

    ReplyDelete

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