The journey continues. We are moving toward our departure to South Sudan. It is very exciting to see the Lord moving and teaching getting us ready for the road ahead.
We Americans just celebrated our Independence Day, July 4th. A time of celebration of our breaking away from those that would rule over us. It started me thinking when in a Bible study the leader asked "Do we have independence?"
We here in the US tend to dearly hold our freedom as a God given right to do as we please. After all we are free and no one can make us do anything. Yet I think more and more we are seeing the results of this free thinking in the news. For decades in our schools we have been forcing out the idea of an absolute right and wrong. What is right for you might not be right for everyone else. So we continue to allow everyone to do what is right in his own eyes, responsible to no one.
Is this freedom? If your life motto is "get all you can, can all you get, and sit on the can" are you really free? That great theologian Janis Joplin once sang in a song "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose" There is quite a bit of wisdom in those words. As soon as there is one thing in your life that you must hang on to, you are no longer free. In fact you have become a slave. Your life will be arranged and organized for the benefit of that one thing, it will become your god. The one thing that you devote more time and resources to, that your hope for the future is in. Now it can be argued that some things in life should be in this position, take family for instance. Shouldn't your life be set up and arranged to make sure that you are able to see your family prosper? Or maybe just you spouse. After all Jesus said "love your wife as Christ loves the church, even laying down his life for her".
The question is, can we really control anything at all? We can build up our savings and pay off all the bills, but that stuff can all change in a heartbeat, literally.
I came across this quote on an SIM missionary's facebook page, her name is Cathy Hoelzer and she is serving at a medical clinic in Doro, South Sudan,
"A Boring life is the result of risk-less living. The need for security is killing our passion for adventure. We watch movies to feed our hunger for adventure but it is a plastic, synthetic, fantasy and it's siphoning off our God given desire to actually live a fantastic journey.
I love movies, but I don't want life to be something I watch on the screen. I want life to be something worth dying for
It's time to leave the shores of security and set sail on the sea of a great adventure..
A life being led by the Lord Jesus Christ, is a life that can be compared to none other, hang on and enjoy the ride.
"Greater love no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends"
John 15:13 NIV
