Savor Your Freedom

Savor Your Freedom

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the man who trusts in Him.”
                           Psalm 34:8

Hearing the story of the martyrdom in Kenya earlier this month of two Christians, 8 year-old Winnie Mutinda and 25 year-old John Kikavu, has struck a chord about the freedoms we so richly enjoy. Living in the vacuum of our Western culture, a person can so easily fall into the trap of taking our blessings, privileges, and opportunities for granted. A sense of entitlement can overtake us, and instead of slowing down and enjoying all that God has made possible in our lives, we run from one thing to the next, never savoring the moment or savoring the freedoms that define our lives.

Another story that was publicized this week was the systematic burning of church buildings in several parts of the world in an attempt to spread fear and intimidation and, in so doing, eliminate any Christian witness or presence in those countries. My reaction was to pray, “Lord, help me to enjoy and be thankful for every worship service I am blessed to be a part of.” No more hurrying through, no more looking ahead to what is the next thing on the agenda and certainly no more taking our freedom to worship for granted. How important, if we are to get everything out of our gatherings that God intends, that we take the time to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” We have freedoms and rights that others do not; we must see them as such if we are to reap the benefit of God’s great goodness in our lives.

The principle goes further and I struggled with titling this “savor your freedom”, “savor the moment”, or even “savor your life.” The time you spend with family and friends should be treated as something precious, time that may never be repeated, time that is guaranteed to no one. And instead of taking things in our life for granted, it’s time we started to take advantage of the time and opportunities we have, wringing the most out of them. It’s time we started to show a deeper appreciation for the people that surround us and savor the time that we have together, getting to know them in a more personal and meaningful way.

The young man and the little girl mentioned above were killed when a grenade was thrown into the Christian leader’s home they were gathering in. Their lives were forfeited because of their faith in Jesus Christ, the same Lord whose mercy and grace we can treat as commonplace if we are not careful. Let’s be sure, going forward, to embrace gratitude at a whole new level, a "savoring" level!

God Bless,
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church