Putting it to good use!?!

Think about the gifts you received for Christmas.  You were given those gifts so you could use or wear them.  I once heard an illustration of an engineer who spent years hand crafting a brand new automobile.  It had a convertible body, was painted a deep cherry red, and was fashioned with black leather interior.  It had every gadget and touch screen you could imagine.  The engine was like nothing the world had ever seen before and it had been customized for peak performance and was ready for use. 

Then the engineer went to an unsuspecting man’s home and knocked on the door.  When the man answered the door, the engineer spoke: “I designed this car specifically with you in mind.  I am giving this to you.  You may never understand fully how, but as you use this car it will continue to change and amaze you.  It will never need a tune up and will never need more gas.  It has a power source like no other.  My name is on the car; when people see the car, I will receive the glory for its beauty and performance.  But while I will receive all the glory for the car, I give this to you for your enjoyment.”  And with that, he left the car to the man.

Now if that were you and you had just been given this brand new, state-of-the-art hotrod, what would you do with it?  Would you put it in the garage?  Would you hop in and drive it all over town?  Would you intentionally show it off to your friends and family?  How would you respond to those who look at the car in amazement, for they had never seen such a thing?

Well, as the story goes, the engineer came back a few months later to check on the man and see how much he was enjoying the car.  When he arrived at the man’s house, the engineer was shocked and in disbelief, as there sat the car… sitting in the man’s front yard… full of dirt with a few flowers growing.

 

I love studying and focusing on what it means to live in “freedom.”  Not from the American patriotic sense, but in the Biblical sense.  I love to invest myself in conversations and discussions on what it means to live free from the law and our response to the one who has set us free.  Take a moment and check out Galatians 5:1 – “For freedom Christ has set us free…” (ESV)

The Message puts it this way, “Christ has set us free to live a free life.” 

For those of us who are “In Christ,” we have been given something that was intended for a specific use.  As the new automobile was created to be driven, we have been set free from the slavery of sin to live a life of freedom.  God has given us this gift to be used and to be used for a specific purpose.  The second half of Galatians 5:1 informs us that we are not given freedom so we can be enslaved once again.

A question to think about today: Are you using what has been engineered for you?  Or, are you missing out on the joy that comes from using the gift that was crafted for those of us who are in Christ?