Liberty -- How Precious!
by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
We were interested to read, recently, about the man in California who ran short of grazing land for his herd of 13 buffalo. To solve this problem he put them on a barge and took them over to a large island in Lake Berryessa where there was lots of pasture. But what did the buffalo do? They jumped back into the lake, swam to shore and began charging fishermen and chasing automobiles — so enraged were they at being imprisoned on an island!
After all, neither man nor beast enjoys bondage, though many of us are in fact enslaved.
Our Lord said in John 8:32: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” To this the religious leaders replied: “We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest Thou, Ye shall be made free?” But our Lord answered: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin” (Ver. 34). St. Paul says the same thing in Rom. 6:16:
“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
Sad to say, many sincere religious people think that they can free themselves from sin by putting themselves in bondage to the Law, the Ten Commandments. This never works, for the Law can only condemn the sinner. Rom. 3:19,20 declares that the Law was given “that every mouth may be stopped and that all the world may be brought in guilty before God… for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Again we have to turn to Christ for salvation and true liberty. He “died for our sins” (I Cor. 15:3) and has “redeemed us from the curse of the law” (Gal. 3:13).
Having believed this and trusted Christ as Savior, true Christians serve the Lord, not from fear, or to gain favor, but out of sheer love and gratitude. This is true liberty and this service is the only kind that God desires from us. Probably no man ever served the Lord more sincerely or tirelessly than the Apostle Paul. In II Cor. 5:14 he gives us the secret: “The love of Christ constraineth us…”
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Interview
Herb had spent all afternoon interviewing for a new job. He began filling out all the papers. The human resources manager then questioned him at length about his training and past work experience. Herb then was given a tour of the plant and was introduced to people he would be working with.
Finally, he was taken to the general manager's office. The manager rose from his chair, shook his hand, and asked him to sit down.
"You seem to be very qualified," he said, "and we would like you to come work for us. Will you offer a good insurance plan and other benefits. We will pay you $600 a week starting today and then in three months, will raise it to $700 a week. When would you like to start?
"In three months," Herb replied.
- Edited from GCFL
Herb had spent all afternoon interviewing for a new job. He began filling out all the papers. The human resources manager then questioned him at length about his training and past work experience. Herb then was given a tour of the plant and was introduced to people he would be working with.
Finally, he was taken to the general manager's office. The manager rose from his chair, shook his hand, and asked him to sit down.
"You seem to be very qualified," he said, "and we would like you to come work for us. Will you offer a good insurance plan and other benefits. We will pay you $600 a week starting today and then in three months, will raise it to $700 a week. When would you like to start?
"In three months," Herb replied.
- Edited from GCFL
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