I have decided to post three brief devotional readings from the teaching ministry of A.W. Tozer (1897-1963). Tozer was saved at home in Akron, Ohio at the age of seventeen after having heard a street preacher say, "If you don't know how to be saved, just call on God." He did exactly that.
Galatians 5:1 - "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit agin to a yoke of slavery."
To any human who bothers to think a bit, it should be evident that there is in our society no such thing as absolute freedom - for only God is free!
It is inherent in creaturehood that its freedom must be limited by the will of the Creator and the nature of the thing created. Freedom is liberty within bounds, liberty to obey holy laws, liberty to keep the commandments of Christ, to serve mankind, to develop to the full all the latent possibilities within our redeemed natures. True Christian liberty never sets us free to indulge our lusts or to follow our fallen impulses.
On earth, a healthy society requires that its members accept a limited freedom. Each must curtail his own liberty that all may be free, and this law runs throughout all of the created universe, including the kingdom of God.
The glory of Heaven itself lies in the character of the freedom enjoyed by those who dwell therein.
Lord, today we pray for the members of the churches in our community. Empower them (and us) to curb their "fallen impulses" and to be a bright beacon in the midst of a dark society.
