July 2005
"Liberty The Right to Choose"
Here I am back to work after a busy, but rejuvenating two weeks of vacation. As with many of you, much time was filled with cleanup and yard work resulting from the violence of the storm on June 5th. I still cant get my mind around the amount of damage that the storm unleashed on our community and how localized that damage was. I can only thank God that the losses were material and no one was seriously injured or killed. I was moved by the response of those in the community who chose to offer their time and service to assist others in the cleanup process; those who thought not of themselves, but focused their attention and energies on the needs of other people to them I give a hearty "Thank You".
It is only fitting, as Independence Day approaches, that their self-sacrificial response to the situation before them reminds us all of the "Liberty" that our Declaration of Independence calls an "unalienable Right endowed by our Creator". Webster defines "liberty" as the "right to choose: the freedom to think or act without being constrained by necessity or force". And so it is that they made the choice to help other people in their moment of need.
Their action represents a tradition that, as Americans today, all too often seems to be an "endangered species". It seems that our exercise of the "Liberty" that God has given us, leads us in directions that have more to do with our own self interests and lead us to priorities contrary to what Christ has called us to be as his disciples. Yet, when need arises, we see their example and realize that all is not lost; that love and concern for neighbor is still alive. But why is it that it takes a natural disaster or an attack on our people from external hostility (as on 9-11) to rally us to fully offer ourselves to the service of those in need. Need is all around us everyday: needs of the elderly, needs of those less fortunate than ourselves, needs of the lost, the lonely, needs of those struggling with additions people who desperately need help from others. Christ calls us to be those others to love our neighbor; to offer ourselves to those that he loves.
We spend so much time saving and preparing for vacations, or college, or our retirement. Im not saying that these things are inherently bad, but how much time to we really spend preparing for eternity? Life is short in relation to the eternity before us. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:19-21, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." How do we store up our treasures in heaven? Simple, love one another as Christ has loved us. Reach out to those in need. Use the liberty that God has given us to choose to think and act in response to Gods love for us and follow the example that Jesus has given us. What good is it to gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul? How will you use the liberty the freedom that is endowed by your Creator?
Grace and Peace, Pastor Rob
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