Daily Devotions
Is Freedom a Good Thing?
Title: Is Freedom a Good Thing?
Reading for January 2: Genesis 5-8
When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.
Genesis 6:1-2
One thing that is clear from the first chapters of Genesis is that God has given man freedom. God puts restrictions on us ("don't eat of the tree of knowledge"), and he calls on us to exercise control over our passions ("sin's desire is for you but you must rule over it"). But God doesn't prevent man from exercising his free will. In chapter three the woman "saw" and then she "took" from the forbidden tree. In chapter six the sons of God "saw" and then they "took" whatever wives they desired. And in the end, the results of these selfish and short-sided choices were devastatingly bad.
So, is freedom a bad thing? It is if we don't listen to God. But freedom ultimately is a good thing because without it we couldn't choose to "walk with God" as Noah did (Gen 6:9). Because God gave Noah freedom Noah had a real and authentic relationship with God. Noah chose to obey God (Gen 6:22) trusting in what God said and not in what his eyes saw. He lived righteously (Gen 6:9) choosing what God defined as good and not what he saw as good in his own eyes.
God gives us freedom, but that freedom is not a license to sin. Freedom is God's invitation to walk with him in righteousness and to enjoy all the good God wants to share with us.
Father, thank you for giving us freedom. Help us not to use this freedom as a cover-up for evil, but to humbly walk with you and live as your servants.
