May the mumbling commence!
I pledge allegiance to obedience, and my obedience belongs to God. Seven days ago, it was Flag Day. Like many other people taught in a public school setting, I started my day with the “Pledge of Allegiance.”
You know, “one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” Where does liberty and justice for all come from? Let me tell you it’s not from the constitution or the national government. Liberty and justice come from God, who all nations are under. Read about Jesus’ action as Paul writes to the church in Rome in Romans chapter five:
For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (Verses 17-19)
And justice for all, indeed! Justice comes through the work of grace which brings us the gift of righteousness. This work was accomplished by Jesus alone. And this work was done through a perfect obedience to the heavenly Father.
So, how do we use such freedom? Our freedom must go much deeper than the pursuit of our own happiness – or even the happiness of our loved ones. Our freedom beckons us to use this extravagant gift of righteousness to totally give our obedience to the Lord. Read from the end of Romans chapter six:
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey – whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Verses 15-23)
Who will your master be? The Lord Jesus is the best Master out there. Why choose anyone or anything else? My ultimate allegiance is to Jesus alone. And Jesus leads us in obedience to the heavenly Father through the Holy Spirit. No other master will do. No other spirit will do. All other roads lead to death.
May my master be obedience to the living Lord! I would rather be a pawn of God than be a king for any other master. I would rather be a slave in the household of God than be the first-born son of corporate royalty.
I pledge my allegiance to obedience to my Lord Jesus Christ and the heavenly Father. This path of faithful obedience is the only one that will lead to justice for all and to the sweet life eternal.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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