Now we are free, what should we do?

Every day we're reading or listening to part of the Bible together and sharing thoughts with you. Today it’s Bern Leckie:

What did I like about today’s passage?

I like the practical help God's people get in this passage. From being physically provided for and having their enemies defeated when the leaders trust in him, to being realistic about spreading the burden of leadership, we're seeing guidelines emerge for a life with God which is liveable.

Some think of the “ten commandments” and the rest of God’s Old Testament law as religious symbols of restriction rather than freedom. Wouldn’t that be ironic? God only just freed his people from slavery! Was that to enslave them to religion instead?

While there is plenty of stuff coming up for people to wrap into a religious system, what I like about the first principles of law revealed here by God is that his intention is simple, practical and relational. Every command to people here is to improve relationships, with God and other people.

What did it show me about Father God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit?

God wants his people to be free and to be guided into using their freedom well. One thing I know from my freelancing experience – I don’t always use my freedom well.

Sometimes I get bogged down with stuff and forget about people. I can get distracted and, without some guidelines, fail to get anything meaningful done.

But God cares deeply that our lives are fruitful, meaningful and connected with him. So he shows how we can live most fruitfully, recognising him, in good relationship with him and the people around us. God wants us to know how to do this practically. He does not just hope that we work it out with our freedom but calls us to choose to trust and obey him.

What am I going to do differently as a result?

Recognising God and choosing to put him first in everything is the key to the whole thing. I am sure that this is not about doing lots of church stuff. I want to grow in relationship with God in all my family and work life. I need to get better at ensuring that God has a Sabbath-shaped space in my life to be visible in between work commitments.

Who am I going to share this with?

I want to understand how people with different faiths in our school community see and live out the balance between freedom and commitment to obeying God. I want to show how my faith works in practice, but it’s not easy to do directly sometimes. However, this looks like a good topic to discuss with some of them.