Thought for the Week

Scriptures to Read:

St. John 8:31-36

Romans 5:15-18

Romans 6:15-23

Romans 8:1-11

Galatians 5:1-6

I Peter 2:4-12

Philippians 2:1-11

I am trusting you are planning to observe Thanksgiving Day. Thanks may certainly be given to a lot of people. We need to remember the primary focus of Thanksgiving Day is to thank God for all He has done for us, as individuals and as a nation. If there ever was a nation that's been blest, it is the United States. Many people squeak by with the basic necessities. Most people spend almost every waking moment providing for food, clothing and housing of sorts. Citizens of many nations cannot provide even these. People are hungry, have no homes, and not much in the way of clothing. Unemployment is tragic. With no work, there is no income. People cannot afford to live.

On the other hand, we have abundance. Of course we may not believe how blest we are. We spend a lot of time grumbling and complaining about how hard life is. But if we opened our eyes to the world around us, we could see how rich we really are. Many blessings in life come because we are free. We have the right to pursue happiness. With the basic needs supplied, many of us seek after the luxuries of life. Wars have been fought to make and keep us free. We are, or make ourselves the policemen of the world, attempting to provide freedom for other peoples as well. God has watched over us. We have never been invaded by a foreign power. We can and should thank God for this.

Israelites told Jesus, "We have never been in bondage to anyone." All the while Rome was their master. There had been other masters before. We might make the same kind of brag since the Revolutionary War was fought and won. We can scarcely imagine how much prayer was offered to God to grant victory. So many of the Revolutionary forefathers were praying people. We dare not forget that. But, while we may not be in bondage in a physical way to another nation, many of us are in spiritual bondage. That bondage wears many faces. It can be an addiction. It can be an indebtedness. It can be an emotional bondage. But, no matter the face it wears, the ultimate oppressor is Satan and his evil host.

I remind myself of our human weakness. We cannot break the chains of this slave-master. I would not say no one ever overcame an addiction but those who have had a measure of success rightly say "I am a recovering _________." Jesus provides hope beyond our human capabilities. He said, "If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed." To be free as a nation cost the lives and blood of many. To be free as an individual has cost the life of One. We may not be able to understand how this works. But in the spiritual realm, the price to be paid is death. We are set free from addictions, indebtedness, emotional, and every other sort of bondage when we die. So dead people are free. There is no victory in that freedom. But when Jesus paid the spiritual debt, He paid for it with His life. He died to set us free. It was a horrible, terrible, awful price to pay. He knew it. He accepted it as His duty. He was the only One Who could pay the price.

In order to pay the price for sin, the Deliverer had to be sinless. Only Jesus was. When He died for us, we could truly be freed from the bondage Satan applied. So, at this Thanksgiving time, give thanks to the great God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.