In our journey this week, we learnt from Christ Jesus that our journey through this life will sometimes be interrupted by those with agendas different from those of God. But with our eyes firmly fixed on God, we can overcome challenges. With the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, any challenge can become an opportunity to serve God. We have also begun to
explore ways to keep our eyes fixed on God. Something within us changes as we continue to open ourselves to a life in unity with God. There is a freedom to become who we are created to be.
Three great ingredients in this life of freedom are the following:
- Freedom
grows as our faith inspires our work.
Some work in an environment of fear and face constant criticism. Others grow weary from constantly chasing after ever-growing and unsatisfying rewards. Then there are those whose work is a daily grind of showing up as a sense of duty.
Those who work united with God find their true calling inspired through faith in the God who calls. Our daily lives are not spent desperately trying to satisfy others but rather to honour and glorify God, who rewards us generously beyond anything we can imagine.
- Freedom is found in what draws us to our work.
God is love. As God calls us to give sincerely of ourselves, we are being drawn into God’s love. Interactions and service for others become a labour of love expressed through us by God. What we give is no longer a struggle or a mark of social slavery; it is the offering of love shown through us and from within us. We offer this freely because God loved us first, and we serve out of that sense of God’s everlasting love.
- Freedom to endure with hope
Our days are only sometimes going to run smoothly. There will be challenges along the way, which may tempt us to lose focus. The good news is we do not face these alone. United with God, we focus on the hope of eternity. Our hope is fuelled by the profound felt courage God’s enduring love provides. And in the times we genuinely
struggle, we can always return to Scripture to remind ourselves of how Jesus endured what he did through the power of the Father and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
You are God’s beloved, called by name to live in these times for God’s loving purpose. Many people give thanks when you are here, even if you are unaware of the lives you touch. God sees what you do, as
do God’s saints among you. Live as a responsible citizen in your country and serve God as God calls you to, with faith, hope and love.
Spend some time today considering that you are God’s beloved, called by name.
Allow the thoughts and even the sense of being loved to
soak into you.
Consider the week that has passed. Where did you feel that God and you might have been in partnership serving others?
Spend time in worship of God who calls, enables and, above all, loves.
Reflections by Cherie-Lynn van der Merwe
