You’ve heard it said, “Freedom isn’t free at all.” Certainly freedom is valuable and costly. Our men and women in the military are familiar with this quote, and I do hope all of us recognize the high price of liberty. Without a doubt – freedom is a precious gift. As Christians, we too know that our freedom was bought for a price. God gave His only Son so that we may experience freedom from the power of sin and death.
Now if you were a prisoner in a foreign land and someone bought your freedom, wouldn’t you overflow with gratitude toward that person? When is the last time you thanked God for the price He paid for your freedom? What if we decided that every single day we were going to take time to thank God for the freedom, forgiveness and blessings we so richly enjoy, but so obviously don’t deserve? Honestly – we would be different people.
If we decided to live everyday in gratitude for the price Jesus paid for us – we truly would be different. For one thing we would freely love and forgive other people – of big offenses and small ones. We would forgive because we are grateful for being forgiven. Think about what that would do to the relationships you have right now!
If we truly valued the price Jesus paid for us on the cross, we would also recognize how precious and loved we are in God’s eyes. The apostle Paul put it this way in his letter to the Colossians “Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved…” Do you see yourself as holy and dearly loved by God? God paid a high price for you – you are his precious child and a partaker of His grace!
So let us live in gratitude for what God has done and the high price He has paid to set us free! I want to encourage you to start each day thanking God for the wonderful gift of being a part of His family, bought with a price, holy and dearly loved. Never take freedom lightly!
Can you imagine what the world would look like if Christians lived every day in gratitude for the precious and priceless gift we have received through Christ? Let’s allow Christ’s light to shine brightly through us living as grateful people – forgiven people – hope-filled people!