DaySpring Daily Word of Inspiration: Galatians 5:13 – You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.
When we consider things we’ve been given in this life, there is a natural response we have when we receive them. Normally, even in society today, when we are gifted with something that is really expensive we tend to be very gracious towards the giver. We treat that gift with a certain care and we have a reaction that is considerate of that giver. With that being said, how does this look with what God has given us?
Our freedom came at a high cost. There was blood shed on the cross for our sins. We were forever freed from the bondage of belief that we were helpless against the sinful wants, desires, and actions of our hearts. However Christ came and flipped the script on the strongholds of sin. He gave us an out (for those who’d choose to accept it). He gifted us with freedom and the promise of eternal life through him. Knowing this there should be a natural response to the truth of his actual gift. If when humans give us something, we treat it as something precious, why when we we’re given freedom from sin in this life do we not see that as much more precious? In fact, a lot of Christians abuse that freedom because they’ve misinterpreted the meaning of God forgiving all of their sins. They think of it as a license to continue to live recklessly because “oh, I’ve been saved by the blood of Jesus so it’s ok.” NOOOOOOO! IT’S NOT OK!!!!!! (Romans 6:1-7) We were given this precious gift not to trample all over it but to respond to it as any rational person who received a gift would! This freedom isn’t a means to continue to do what we want, but to show others the love of Jesus effectively working in your life as you meet their needs in acts of service! We should now take on the heart of the giver!
Today we are faced with the reality that many of our brothers and sisters have taken their freedom beyond the borders of care and have totally destroyed the precious gift that God gave us. We have to be vigilant in steering people back to the light of gratitude and ensuring that the freedom gift God has given us isn’t being abused. Think about it like this, what would a person who gave you a gift do if they found out that you didn’t treat the gift they gave you with some sort of care and concern? Now consider if God is just when he doesn’t extend his gift of salvation to those who might be expecting another gift from him. We’ve got to get this right, now! God’s gift of freedom and salvation isn’t for us to embrace more sin in our lives but to humbly share that gift with others so God’s love may be experienced by all. How are you making God’s gift of freedom look to someone he wants to be lead to him? If it looks all destroyed and invaluable, will someone really want to know where you got your gift from? Let make our gift of freedom in Jesus look attractive so others will inquire about the greatest gifter of all. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!