freedom

I hope you enjoyed your 4th of July celebrations.  I hope you spent time with loved ones, watched some rockets red glare and enjoyed time relaxing.

Independence Day has always been one of my favorite holidays for a lot of reasons.  I do love fireworks.  I love summer and have great memories of playing in sprinklers and swimming with my friends on hot humid days and of course, I love it because we get to celebrate the freedom that we enjoy as Americans. I am glad we are free to speak our minds, glad we are free to worship how we choose and so many other amazing freedoms that many in the world do not have.  I know those freedoms didn't come easily or without great sacrifice and so it's good to remember all those who served and died to give us and to protect those freedoms.

I also know that freedom requires caution.  Just because we CAN do something doesn't mean we SHOULD do it.  For example, freedom of speech means that I CAN call someone rude names or use fowl language...but that doesn't mean I SHOULD do this (how can I love my neighbor while insulting them?).  

As Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 10:23, "Everything is permissible-but not everything is beneficial.  "I have the right to do anything"-but not everything is constructive."

I am so glad we have the freedom in this nation, but let us be careful not to use our freedoms to hurt others.  The greatest law is not to love ourselves, but to love God and our neighbor.
 
In Christ,
Pastor Scott