My Liberty

Posted on May 27, 2020 by Catey Stover in Freedom Fighters

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Psalm 133:1 (NKJV)

I wanna start off today by letting you all know something about myself, I enjoy a good provocation every now and again. Iron sharpening iron only comes from engagement and if you say you understand the workings of anything then sometimes a good debate can educate. However, there are some out there that wish I would just bite my QWERTY board tongue, follow as directed, and keep my opinion to myself. To them I say…C’est la guerre!!

So, when I got told that I was gonna have to self-isolate for 14 days because of being in contact with someone who tested positive with COVID-19 I kinda shuttered at the thought. I can’t keep still for 14 seconds let alone 14 days but given the uncertainty of this virus, in the beginning, and even now, I reluctantly did as I was told and the end result of it was that I lasted ten days. I tried…C’est la vie.

Since then I’ve watched battle lines being drawn. There’s a lot of arguing going on and none of it has produced anything that could be called a good debate. It screams that all personal liberties matter and don’t you dare tread on mine. Now that might be good if we were fighting against a definitive tyrant but we’re all fighting among ourselves and Christians aren’t being left out of the fray.

My Apologetics instructor, Pastor James Peterson, wrote something in one of his Midweek Musing’s that got me thinking. Here’s the link,  http://www.emmanuel-nj.org/?p=2833&fbclid=IwAR3jkal8LjHiTsPl3xvqDIZlg5G77_bmHaol5E2_N7od9kiwlSM5ogMBep8, and I would encourage you to give this a read. The part that stood out to me is where he says, “the information surrounding COVID-19 and the continually developing nature of the situation place our response, in many ways, in the realm of Christian liberty.”

He makes you take a look at Romans 14:1-13 and in a time where I’m seeing many who would direct our attention to submission under Romans 13 it was refreshing to see somebody out there looking to the full counsel of God. Unfortunately, I have found myself guilty in this sense, because I don’t want any of my so-called liberties trampled on, I use my so-called Biblical prowess to trample upon others.

Like…many thought this pandemic was a sign that Jesus was coming back. Well, Jesus is coming back but we still need to run what we think through our Bibles and find others to discuss our thoughts with. This doesn’t make any of us right or wrong, but what it does make us is ready…I hope. In this, Pastor James reminds us that we need a renewed call to love, patience, and deference toward one another. This would mean taking what we see in Ephesians 4:1-3 seriously.

“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.”

This doesn’t say you must agree with everything that sway’s in the breeze, on the contrary, it says that even with our faults we must stay unified by the same love that comes from God who first loved us. Let’s face it, since God loves knuckleheads like us, love your fellow knucklehead. Deal with it!!

I’ll be the first to admit to you all that I’m no fan of “Church on Zoom”, I feel in the long run it’ll diminish what we are encouraged to do as we see in Hebrews 10:25, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.” I am also concerned that we’ll lose the kinda of reverence that Daniel had shown when he refused to eat the king’s food, bow to his statue and stop praying to YHVH because of the king’s edict. But I gotta digress, these are “my” concerns, I can’t shove them down anyone’s throat (even if I think it’s my place).

Senior editor of ‘The Gospel Coalition”, Brett McCracken, also penned something I thought was cool. In his article, “Church, Don’t Let Coronavirus Divide You”, he’ll say something that really puts a nail in it for me. He’ll basically says “we can be skeptical of some aspects of the lockdown without resorting to outrageous conspiracy theories.” I guess I’m gonna have to be content with the notion that this isn’t “1984”?

That remains to be seen but ultimately if we’re standing on the promises of God, and we’re encouraging others to do so, the last thing we need to be doing is making our brothers and sisters feel more uncomfortable then they already are. Amen?

Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) has been married for 25+ years (Kathy), has a married son (Kevin) and a daughter in college (Karen). He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008. You can email him at cphughes515@verizon.net

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Think About This: “If in His absolute freedom God has willed to give man limited freedom, who is there to stay His hand or say, “What doest thou?” — A.W. Tozer

The Daily Bible Reading: Psalms 53-57| You can download our 2020 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here. 

This Week’s Verse to Memorize:  “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. ³³ But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 10:32-33

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the doctrinal and theological views held by America’s Keswick.