The Freedom of God
“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”—Acts 17:24-25
God is the only truly free being in the universe. We are not free—for the laws of the universe, our own physicality, government, and workplaces bind us. We must maintain an average body temperature ranging between 94° and 100° F. If we go below or above that temperature, we suffer extreme sickness or death. We must have proper shelter, water, nutrition, and rest. We cannot function without water for more than a few days. We can’t function without food for more than several weeks. And we cannot function without sleep. Scientists still are baffled about why we need it, but God has put within us the need for sleep in order to show us that we are limited and in need of Him (Psalm 76:5). Sleep is a gift from God (Psalm 4:8; Psalm 127:2) that is meant to rejuvenate and refresh us (see 1 Kings 19:4-7).
We are so unlike God. He needs no sleep (Psalm 121:4), food (Psalm 50:12), or shelter (Acts 17:24-25); He is completely and entirely free. The laws of the universe do not bind Him, for He created them and supersedes them. He is the Creator God who gives to “all mankind life and breath and everything.”
We are not free, nor is any other creature in all of creation. Sometimes we express our desire to be “free as a bird,” but even birds are not free. They are regulated by environment and habitat; they have to be concerned about food supply, predators, and shelter. They are not truly free. God and God alone is truly free, and it is "In Him we live and move and have our being”—Acts 17:26.
The freedom of God reminds us that He is God and that we are not; we are the creation and He is the Creator. He didn’t have to save us. He didn’t have to send His Son to die on our behalf as our substitute, no, He would have been perfectly just and right to let us die in our sins. He didn’t need to create us, but He did nonetheless, so that we “should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward Him and find Him”—Acts 17:27.
May we pause to immerse ourselves in the God who is truly free. May we bask in His glory and find delight in His freedom as children find delight in a cold pool on a hot summer day! And may we come forth from contemplating His wondrous freedom as from a night of sweet rest, rejuvenated and ready for the days ahead. He didn’t have to do anything, but He chose to because of His great love and desire to make Himself known to us so that we might find delight and ultimate joy in and through the person of His Son, our Savior—Jesus Christ. Amen.
God is the only truly free being in the universe. We are not free—for the laws of the universe, our own physicality, government, and workplaces bind us. We must maintain an average body temperature ranging between 94° and 100° F. If we go below or above that temperature, we suffer extreme sickness or death. We must have proper shelter, water, nutrition, and rest. We cannot function without water for more than a few days. We can’t function without food for more than several weeks. And we cannot function without sleep. Scientists still are baffled about why we need it, but God has put within us the need for sleep in order to show us that we are limited and in need of Him (Psalm 76:5). Sleep is a gift from God (Psalm 4:8; Psalm 127:2) that is meant to rejuvenate and refresh us (see 1 Kings 19:4-7).
We are so unlike God. He needs no sleep (Psalm 121:4), food (Psalm 50:12), or shelter (Acts 17:24-25); He is completely and entirely free. The laws of the universe do not bind Him, for He created them and supersedes them. He is the Creator God who gives to “all mankind life and breath and everything.”
We are not free, nor is any other creature in all of creation. Sometimes we express our desire to be “free as a bird,” but even birds are not free. They are regulated by environment and habitat; they have to be concerned about food supply, predators, and shelter. They are not truly free. God and God alone is truly free, and it is "In Him we live and move and have our being”—Acts 17:26.
The freedom of God reminds us that He is God and that we are not; we are the creation and He is the Creator. He didn’t have to save us. He didn’t have to send His Son to die on our behalf as our substitute, no, He would have been perfectly just and right to let us die in our sins. He didn’t need to create us, but He did nonetheless, so that we “should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward Him and find Him”—Acts 17:27.
May we pause to immerse ourselves in the God who is truly free. May we bask in His glory and find delight in His freedom as children find delight in a cold pool on a hot summer day! And may we come forth from contemplating His wondrous freedom as from a night of sweet rest, rejuvenated and ready for the days ahead. He didn’t have to do anything, but He chose to because of His great love and desire to make Himself known to us so that we might find delight and ultimate joy in and through the person of His Son, our Savior—Jesus Christ. Amen.
This devotional causes me to lift up a song "Oh, the glory of Your Presence, we your people give you reverence. Come and rise to your rest and be blessed by our praise, as we glory....in your embrace....as your Presence....now fills this place." Ellen M.
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