Well it is Thursday, another week is almost finished and there is still work on the desk from Monday. Oh well that is the life I have chosen. That is the price of freedom, when you have the right to choose what you do, there is also the responsibility to live with the consciences of those choices. I choose to work on a lot of small problems early this week, and they consumed far more time I expected. That left a few large issues unresolved as I look to the end of the week. Unfortunately, that is the price of having freedom.
It seems that there are many Americans that have the same problems I have. They want the freedom of choice, but they also want the freedom of not having to take responsibility for their choices as well. That is not to say that we all do not need help sometimes, or that all that happens to us is due to our decisions. With that said, we have to be honest and say that many times our situation is a result of our decisions and the consciences of those decisions can be different then we would wish for many times. With freedom comes responsibility was how I heard it put when I was in school. When I was young, I was told you get the freedom to pay your own way (i.e not at home) then you can act how you want. That also meant that I had to pay the price for all the decisions I made. When you are an adult / on your own, there is no one else that is responsible for you other then you. Many times we forget that as individuals.
To many time we as Christians also forget that it was in fact our choice to follow God. God did not force us to follow Him. In fact, one of His greatest examples of love is the fact that He does not force us to follow Him. He gives us a choice, and He shows us His greatness by not making us robots.
I would argue, and many would disagree I am sure, that any sane person would choose eternal life in heaven over a eternity in hell. What many people miss is the fact that they did make a decision to follow Christ. We were not forced to become God's child. God loved us enough to adopt us, but He respected us enough not to force us to follow Him. What a amazing thing.
Unfortunately, after many decide to follow Christ, they begin to complain about the consciences of that decision. They do not like the social ostracism from former friends / buddies / neighbors or family, they do not like the call to live for others before themselves, they do not want to patiently mature - they yearn for quick solutions and religiosity above real faith. Then they wonder why their walk with God is not fruitful, they wonder why their lives are stressful, and they wonder why their life path is full of obstacles. God never promised us a obstacle free life, just that He would never leave us and that with Him we could conquer all the obstacles that come our way. The choice to follow Christ should not be one that is made with little thought. It should not be one that is simply decided on a moments emotion either. The choice to follow God is a permanent and sobering change that will compel all that make it to be radically different then they were before.
When we decided to follow Christ we got the benefits of salvation, spiritual guidance, direction, peace, and purpose, but we also get the responsibility that comes with being a Christian. That means we now have a standard to live by, a pattern of lifestyle and actions to follow, and some major adjustments in priorities if we are to earnestly follow Him. We can not receive Christ and still live for self. That is a possibility that can not exist. We must decide to either follow God or rebel against Him, but we can not do both or neither. Then, once that choice is made we must live with the consciences of it.
Come judgement day, lost people will yearn to have the ability to not have to live out the consciences of their choice. It will be too late for them then though. In the same respect, all that follow after Christ will rejoice in the consciences of their decision. So, the real question is not will the long term consciences of following Christ be better or worse then rebelling, obviously they are better. The real question is if we are willing to accept the consciences for our decision while we are here on earth. Obviously any earthly consciences of following Christ are short term when compared to eternity, but we as humans do not always realize that. We want to be both saved and free to act for self at the same time. That is not possible.
So, as Christians is not just enough to accept the free love of Christ, but we must also accept the responsibilities and duties that come with our decision to follow Him. You probably know that already so, I just want to encourage you to continue remaining vigilant to your call to both accept the rewards and consciences of a walk with Christ. Hopefully your life is already doing a great job of that, and the same trend will continue in the future. Never fail to encourage others to step up and accept the consciences of their decision to follow Christ as well, because the rewards far out weight any consciences that arise here on earth.
Stay strong, be courageous and serve God in all things.
