Every
year when we sing our national anthem and enjoy the vibrant patterns created by
“bombs bursting in air,” I remind myself that most bombs are deadly, not beautiful
like the fireworks display. Although both use similar ingredients, one is
intended to kill; the other to entertain. In this metaphor we see an example of
how something can be used for both good and evil. In the hands of capable,
careful, and caring people, something dangerous becomes glorious. But the opposite is also true.
Freedom—the
very thing we celebrate with fireworks—can also be used for good and evil. As
believers in Christ, we are free from the restrictive Mosaic law, but the Bible
warns us not to use our spiritual freedom for selfish purposes: “Do not use
liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another”
(Gal. 5:13).
Not
everyone has political and religious freedom, but all believers in Christ have
spiritual freedom. We must not use it as a weapon to impose our will on others
but to display the glory of God’s will.
Freedom
doesn’t give us the right to do what we please, but to do what pleases God.
(RBC)
