Freedom for What?
6 min read
8 The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp, entered one of the tents and ate and drank. Then they took silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.
9 Then they said to each other, “What we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.”
— 2 Kings 7:8-9
Happy Independence Day! I feel as if the independence of every sovereign nation is established by blood and war. In a similar way, the kingdom of God is established by blood and war.
The blood is the blood of Jesus Christ. If our Lord had not surrendered to the Father’s will, that He should suffer the wrath of God on a cross for the forgiveness of our sins, what hope would there be for any of us to enter into God’s kingdom.
The war is the spiritual warfare that is raging all around us for the souls of those who do not know Jesus. The devil desires their damnation simply out of spite and hatred toward God. The devil’s goal is not to fill our lives with poverty, tragedy, and difficulty. The devil’s one goal is to make us terrible witnesses of Jesus Christ, so that souls would be drawn away from His church and perish.
Whatever blessings and riches we receive from this world comes from God. But the blessing of our salvation in Christ Jesus far surpasses any treasure we could ever possibly acquire.
Along those lines, it is true that there is no amount of money in this world (money is made by human hands, btw) that comes anywhere close to how much God loves us.
And God never intended for us to hold on to this treasure in Christ Jesus for ourselves. It is not right to keep it to ourselves. And frankly, when Jesus comes, I don’t think He will be very pleased with us if we lived our lives without sharing His treasure. And Jesus has told us quite plainly what we are to do with His treasure (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8).
Father, You have blessed us beyond what we deserve. The blessing of living in a country where we can freely worship You is beyond what we deserve. Thank You for establishing this nation so tat we might bear witness to Jesus Christ in freedom. Forgive us when we ignore Your commission or take it for granted. Change our hearts to live within Your will. In Jesus’s name. Amen.