If you have access to the
History Channel I would encourage you to watch the episode of ‘Alone’ that was
broadcast on the 23rd. They
always have repeats during the week.
It is a ‘reality’ show where
they put 10 men all by themselves, several miles apart, in the Vancouver
wilderness off the Pacific Coast. They
have ten survival tools of their choice along with other items, cameras and a
satellite phone. They are self-
recording, no camera crew.
They started with ten; they are
now down to four.
One person in particular reminds
us of Norman, Carla’s brother, the man is forty years old (oldest of the four
left) and has the same facial structure, similar ideas, the same manner of
speaking, voice inflection and expressing himself that Norm has, Carla and I
just looked at each other, it was like this was her brother. So if you want to see one of the people I
talk about, you will get a good idea of Norm, by watching this person’s
self-videos on the July 23 broadcast.
Much cooler today, overcast with
some wind, but it is a welcome relief from the prior triple digits. It may only be a temporary respite as the
weather man has said it will once again be warm, their forecasts vary a bit, but
the worse says triple digits once again.
Oh, well. We are keeping an eye out for the harvest of
peaches and pears, they too should be earlier this year and we don’t want to
miss out. My goal is to can a minimum of
100 jars each. They are very nice to
have come mid-winter – and we are even enjoying them now, when we realize our
fridge is empty of fruit and we don’t want to go to the store that day.
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Free, what is free? According to my dictionary:
1 - Costing nothing, requiring
no money to be paid
2 - Not kept a prisoner, not
physically bound or restrained
3 - Not restricted in rights,
not subject to censorship or control by another
There are many other definitions
of course, but these will do for my thoughts today.
Nothing, costs nothing. Nothing is truly ‘free’ there is a cost.
I was watching a commercial that
told people how they could get free medications, free cell phones and a number
of other free items.
Obviously the person had to meet
certain criteria – and for those who are truly in need I have no problem in
helping them in their hours of need.
However, the services provided
are NOT free. Someone else is paying the
price, in either lower profits for the companies, increased costs to other
consumers or, taxpayers’ money from taxes.
The commercial hammered on the
“fact” this is ‘FREE.’
One of the dangers American
citizens are facing today is the mentality that free means they get it for
nothing. It is like whatever is labeled
as free just fell from the skies.
There is no recognition that it
costs someone something when we receive something that WE do not pay for; and
many of our citizens now treat that as a right, they want it and there is no
requirement on their part to pay anything.
These ‘free’ things you can’t
even call a gift, a gift according to my dictionary is “something that is given
to somebody, usually on order to provide pleasure or to show gratitude.” A gift is given freely, these free items are
not gifts; they are coerced in one way or another. Either as a promise for future gratification
on the part of the giver (increased sales, etc.) or by the government that takes
money from one person to give to another.
A true gift is given without
expectation of reciprocation.
I am reminded of the story of an
older Indian who had handmade something (can’t remember what now) for a
friend. He then walked several miles to
give the item to his friend.
The friend was thankful, but
knowing the physical cost to the Indian who had to struggle physically to bring
it to him, he said you didn’t need to bring this to me, I would have come to get
it. The wise Indian said, ‘the journey
is part of the gift.’
The gift cost the Indian in time
and physical distress to give.
Romans 6:22-23 But now
being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto
holiness, and the end everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is
death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
What we have earned by our sins
is death – permanent separation from God, in hell, forever.
In the Old Testament the Jewish
people could at least hold off eternal separation by sacrificing animals to
God. There was a cost to THEM to have
their sins forgiven – and then only to the point where they would be held in
Abraham’s Bosom until the Messiah came and redeemed them unto God.
When Jesus died, he made the
ultimate sacrifice for us. HE gave His
life so that we could be free from sin and the burdens it places on us. It was a gift to us, but it was not free,
Christ paid the price for our redemption.
Romans 8:1-3 There is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death.
3 For what the law could
not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the
flesh:
We are free from the ravages sin
causes our very soul – and oftentimes our bodies, because of the gift of
another’s life for ours.
We are free, but there was a
cost. We must never minimize the costs
of freedom, to do so trivialities the death of Christ.
In America we equate ‘free’ with
no cost. We expect to have things for
free, whether from businesses or the government. I guess that is one of the reasons that
commercial bothers me so much. The word
‘free’ is so misused that it no longer has the true meaning.
When we look at something that
is ‘free,’ we no longer see the costs.
It is far too easy to transfer those attitudes to God’s gift to us and we
diminish that gift as just something we deserve; without considering the costs
given so we can obtain salvation.
I cry for America. We are already paying the price of everything
being ‘free’ and it is going to get worse.
However, one of these days, and it would appear very soon, the
realization that there is a cost and the demands of that cost is going to
destroy us.
That is going to be true of our
financial and physical well-being, but even more so, and tragically so, our
Spiritual well-being.
As there is a cost for our
salvation, there is a cost for disobedience to God. Those that believe they are free to do
whatever they want, especially in defiance of God, will find they are not free
and they will pay the costs.
It is up to us to continue to
proclaim the only thing that is truly free, the only gift that really matters,
the only reason we are truly free; the death of Christ on the Cross, His
resurrection and promise to be with us always.
Later, Art :-)
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