The Freedom to Love

The Freedom to Love

The salvation we have in Christ frees us from a lot of stuff-bondage, judgment and the wrath of God. Those things are gone. Paul tells us to "reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin." (Romans 6:11) We often think of freedom in terms of those things from which we've been made free.

I want to ask you think about the freedom we've been given to do what we could not do in our lostness. We have the freedom to walk with Jesus in the yoke, to abide with Him in the vine, to live with Him day by day. We have the freedom to pursue wholeness and power and holiness.

We also have the freedom to love. I sat around a table with 12 other guys this morning in Bible study. As I looked at the men who were there, knowing many of their stories, it occurred to me that each of them needs love. We need to know that there are people who care about us. It also crossed my mind that I have the freedom in Christ to love those men. They, too, have the freedom to love me.

Our world is a hard place. It's marked by the brokenness and evil of sin. People do bad things to other people. People say bad things about other people. We've done it, and we've had it done to us. Some of us struggle with addictions, in part, because of bad things done to us in our past.

Jesus says, though, that we can change the world when we love others like He has loved us. Hear His words: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12) And again, "These things I command you, that you love one another." (John 15:17) And then again, "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35)

I know too many angry Christians. You probably do, too. You and I can choose to reject anger and pursue love. We've received freedom to do that. We can choose to prove our walk with Jesus by loving people as He loved them. He gave us His Spirit to empower us for that calling. Join me in choosing to be a lover. Join me in making a difference in our churches by loving people-even if they're not lovable.

Jesus made us free to love. Let's just do it! - Pastor John Strain is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Toms River http://www.fbctomsriver.com/

God's WORD for YOU: 1 Chronicles 25-27; John 9:1-23

Think about this: When the devil, the foe and the tyrant, sees a man bearing this weapon [fasting], he is straight-away frightened and he recollects and considers that defeat which he suffered in the wilderness at the hands of the Savior; at once his strength is shattered and the very sight of this weapon, given us by our Commander-in-chief, burns him. Isaac of Syria

Join us this afternoon for a southern Gospel concert with The Duffields.
The concert begins at 3:00 PM in the Activity Center at America's KESWICK. There will be a love offering for the ministry of The Duffields.