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| “I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.” |
| —Psalm 119:93 |
Over the past few months, countless visitors to Yellowstone National Park have gotten into trouble because they strayed from the clearly marked pathways. Officials of the National Park Service, speaking in a recent televised interview, expressed chagrin and amazement that visitors could not simply follow the rules and stay on the pathways provided for their benefit.
It’s not really surprising. People don’t like to be told what to do. That’s one of the hallmarks of our society here in the United States of America. Our country was born out of a rebellion against being told what taxes our forefathers had to pay, with whom they could conduct trade, who would determine their governance, and a host of other rules and regulations that the colonists found oppressive and unfair. Thus, we’ve inherited a society that is always just a wink and a nod from rebelling against authority.
In the Christian life, we have a great deal of freedom in the life-transforming work of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He has set us free from the bondage of sin. He has given us power to do His will through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Our free will is constantly at work, choosing whether or not we will obey His leading in our lives.
Yet, God always gives us a clear pathway. He has enumerated His holiness in His Word. He has shown us what an outpouring of His love looks like. He has given us much freedom, but has also given us clear direction in many areas.
The Psalmist celebrates God’s holiness and His love, when he extols God through song, as recorded in Psalm 119:93:
I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.
We need to recognize that the foundational principles of the Christian life exist for our great benefit. God wants us to celebrate the freedom He has given us. But, He also wants us to learn to surrender our sinful, selfish wills to His perfect, holy, and divine will.
Once we surrender to Him, we will discover the great joy of walking a preserved life of obedience. We will know how to best share His great love with others. We will experience the reality of being His ambassadors to the needy world in which we live.
