That’s not the way we all learned the saying, is it? Nobody says that things are free for the giving — we tell people that things are free for the taking.
But consider these words from Galatians as captured by The Message translation:
It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. (Galatians 5:13 MSG, emphasis mine)
We think of being free as having all constraint taken away so that we can do whatever we want. In reality, that understanding of freedom will eventually enslave us to all kinds of things. God’s plan is that we would live lives married by the freedom only He can give, and because a servant King gives it, it makes sense that His freedom would empower us to serve like Him.
Things may be free for the taking, but we’ve been set free for the giving. I’ll even go first. I’m so blessed by all of you who read my daily posts, either on my blog or in your inbox, and I’m kicking off the Thanksgiving week by saying THANK YOU! All you have to do is have the great folks at Dunkin’ scan that code below and your next cup of coffee is on me. Enjoy!
(It is pre-loaded and will eventually run out, so don’t wait!)
Photo by Jessica Lewis on Unsplash
