One of the most amazing things about God is his generosity. And when he made us in his image, he made sure to include his generosity. The three commands given to humanity in Genesis 2—to serve, watch over and care for, and help each other—are at the core of what it means to be generous.
It didn’t take long, however, for our first parents to stop trusting in God and instead trust in their own ability to define good and evil. And in that moment, our generosity disappeared. We went from givers to takers. We began to see each other either as objects of our own ambition and pleasure or obstacles to be pushed out of the way. And in the process, we lost our freedom to reflect God’s generous love and became slaves to our self-destructive attitudes and behaviors.
Fortunately, we have a God who is in the business of freeing slaves. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, God broke the chains of our slavery and set us free to live once again in his image as loving, generous people.
In Jude’s letter to the churches, he warns that there are those who teach that since we don’t have to do anything for our salvation and nothing can separate us from God’s love, we can go back to doing anything we please! But for James, that’s called slavery. If you follow these teachers, he writes, like our first parents, you’ll wind up becoming slaves to your own broken impulses and will ultimately be destroyed by them!
The alternative? “Defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people” (Jude 1:3). You can stake your life on the teaching and promises of Jesus. Keep trusting in his way of truth and life and freedom! And know that the one who has begun his transforming work in you will one day complete it, so you will look just like him!
Reflection:
- Where in your life do you find yourself enslaved to ambition, competition, addiction, shame, anger, overwork, social media, and anything else that keeps you from living in the freedom Jesus offers you?
- Where are there roadblocks that make it hard to trust God with your decisions, attitudes, habits, and behaviors?
- What steps could you take toward addressing these roadblocks? When can you start?