The Debt of Love I Owe.

Nice song. Have you heard it? Doesn't matter.

So, since GOD died for us, and redeemed us from our sins and all it's consequences, we owe GOD big time, don't we?

Some might go so far as to say we owe HIM everything. So, by that logic, we are obligated to give our all to Christ. In other words, we have to. It's mandatory that was sacrifice everything to live wholly and solely for GOD.

No, not really.

See, if GOD kept a record of what we owed HIM, we'd never be able to pay HIM back for everything HE's done for us. Not even if we spent the entirety of eternity enduring the worst of torture. It wouldn't amount to a tenth of a penny.

But you did see that, right? That little word "if"? GOD keeps no record of debt. Salvation is an absolutely 100% free gift. No strings. Hallelujah. There is not one thing you can possibly do to earn, or deserve salvation. You simply accept.

So no, we aren't obligated. We don't have to. We WANT to. It is our joy to live out our lives wholly and solely for GOD. We want to give up everything. We want to do everything we can to show the love of GOD, to further HIS kingdom, serve HIS people. There is no debt.

Bursting Bubbles

What is love?

Well, I love ______. (my boyfriend/girlfriend, dog, cat, family, pizza, nature, etc.)

POP

Love is when you see this person, and it's like you're the only two people on earth. Birds fly, angels sing, and little hearts fly over their head. You just know that they're the one.

POP

That my friend, is a prime example of a thing we commonly refer to as lust.

What love is.

Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:3-7

Love is not some mushy gushy feeling. It's not a feeling at all. Think about it, you don't go saying "I happy you." or, "I'm so in happy." or, "I feel so love today." Now do you? Then how can you say that love is an emotion, when it can't be said as one? Love involves emotion, no denying that, but it is not one.

What about who love is?

GOD, in HIS very nature, is love. Not has a lot of love, not feels much love towards things, IS LOVE.

Analyze that.

The attributes of GOD, and the characteristics of love. One and the same.

Independence?

Why do we say the pledge of allegiance in church? Why do our hymnals contain songs that glorify our nation? Why do we have flags in our sanctuaries? Why do we pledge to a flag in the first place?

It would seem that pledging to a sinful nation, or it's flag, is dividing our allegiance to GOD. Our nation to be pledged to, our nation for allegiance is the nation of the Kingdom of GOD. Not an earthly man-made system that tries in vain to represent freedom. The only freedom we express is the freedom to be as sinful as one possibly can.

It seems that the meaning of separation of church and state has become that of one to keep the church out of everyone's way.

Independence? True freedom only comes from GOD. Not in a government, a scrap of material, or by which continent you happen to live on.