Tuesday 16th June - The freedom

DAILY BYTE

Have you ever thought about the fact that God did not have to create us, and no one forced God to live constantly in a loving relationship with us – a relationship that cost us what? Nothing. Consider that just like the free feast we heard about yesterday, God also provides a feast of sustenance, love, and forgiveness to us for free. We are the recipients of the greatest free meal of all time.

Therefore, because of this gift given to us, we have also been given the opportunity to share this love with others – to spread the Gospel - the good news that all who are thirsty will be filled with enough water and food to sustain their lives. We are called to prepare a feast of sustenance, love, and grace to those we love, those we hate, and even people we don’t know.

If, however, you’re an accountant or a chef, you may already be aware that preparing a feast often costs a lot of money. Therefore, while we are called to give away the free gifts of sustenance, love, and grace that have been given to us, in our world’s economy, it often costs money and other resources to share those same gifts with others in the world.

When my dad accepted the opportunity of providing a feast for us, he knew that it would cost him a pretty penny. It also seems that God knew when creating us that the gift of free love and grace to us would result in an ultimate price for God – the suffering and death of God’s Son.

But, regardless of your financial state, even in this current recession, through God’s promises to us and through Christ’s gift of freedom for us in life and death, in both tight financial times and in the jubilation of receiving a Christmas bonus, we have been given the opportunity to give of our time, our resources – yes – our money, no matter how small or large the amount may seem to us - so that we can offer to others the kind of love that God offers us for free.

Let me say that again another way: because God has offered us a feast of love, grace, and resources free of charge, we are given the opportunity to share that same kind of love and grace with others through the contribution of our love, grace, and - resources.

If we are “stewards” over creation, caring for everything God created and owns, let’s take seriously the way God calls us to set the table for this kind of feast, sitting with others, eating with them, learning with them, and listening to them so that all the people God loves in this world and specifically this community of South Africa will be welcomed into the abundant life that God offers us for free.

FOCUS READING

1 Peter 2:16 (ESV)

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

PRAY AS YOU GO

God, you have given everything to us freely and abundantly. Help us to give freely of Your resources to others, in return. Amen.