It Is Good to Be Thankful: Appreciation makes the world a better place…
Having done a little travel, I really appreciate certain freedoms we enjoy in this country. Yes, we have major problems, but at least we can speak freely, worship where we choose, own a home, believe what we want, assemble, move from place to place, get an education, have a trial in a court, marry whom we choose, wear what we want, start a business, and chew gum.
Of course, we aren’t free to do whatever we want. Freedom shouldn’t give us license to deliberately hurt others. It can’t be used to abuse others, commit murder, steal, or rape. So we have some laws in place to protect our freedoms. We are free to drive a car and although we hate getting speeding tickets, we sort of like having those speed limits, traffic lights, and stop signs—especially for others. We may trust ourselves not to misuse our freedom, but we aren’t so sure about the other guy!
I’m also thankful for the freedom we have in Christ. Paul admonishes us to “stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free…” (Galatians 5:1). God no longer wants us to adhere to a long list of requirements to draw close to Him. There is no need for circumcision or being slaves to ordinances, sacrifices, and rituals. Righteousness is no longer measured by a list of dos and don’ts. Lists like that provided a certain comfort level because just following them made one feel assured of pleasing God. No one had to think about what was right or wrong. They just looked at a list. That was the old covenant—a physical approach to a physical law.
The new covenant is a spiritual approach. We have access to God directly. There is no need to jump through hoops to get His attention. He walks with us and talks with us. However, even though Paul reminds us to stand fast in this freedom, we are cautioned to use it wisely—the way God intended (Galatians 5:13-15). We are told not to pursue works of the flesh such as “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, murders, drunkenness, etc….” Rather we are encouraged to walk in the spirit of “joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance,” and so on. (Galatians 5:19-22)
Any kind of freedom is a special gift. How we use it is up to us!
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“It is good thing to give thanks unto the Lord…” ~ Psalms 92:1 (KJV)
