The High Cost of Free

FREE!!  It's a word that gets our attention. What could be better than free? Lately, I've been considering the high cost that often comes with free.

The other day, as I grocery shopped, I saw Pretzel M&Ms on sale, buy one jumbo bag, get one FREE! The M&Ms weren't on my list. But suddenly I was contemplating not having just one bag, but TWO JUMBO bags of M&Ms at my house. After all, one was FREE!!  But then I considered the 10 pounds I'd lost over the past 6 weeks, and realized that while "free," I would be paying a high cost with my weight. There was a price to pay for those free M&Ms. I left them at the store.

Adam and Eve paid a high cost with their "free" will. God told them not to eat from a certain tree in the garden. And though all the other trees were available, they were "free" to decide to eat from that tree, even though God said no. They did. The cost they paid was separation from God, leaving the perfect garden of Eden, and bringing sin into the world.

We too have free will. We can choose to accept Jesus as our Savior, or not. Many people every day choose by "free" will not to accept him. And the cost associated with that "free" is death. Eternal death. 

The cost of sin is death. And that is a high price to pay. But we sinners can be made free in Christ, by using our free will to accept his free gift of eternal life. The high cost of our freedom was paid by Christ, so that we can be free, indeed.

So if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed. John 8:36

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

God and the Election

Election day. The results will decide the person who will lead the United States of America for the next four years. Does God decide who our leader will be?

I don't think so. This is only my opinion, but if you read 1 Samuel 8, you see the people wanted a king. God didn't want them to have a king. He had Samuel warn them all the ways the king would harm them, but still they wanted a king, so God said "Listen to them, and give them a king." God knew it was a bad decision, but he let them, because it was what they wanted. Free will. And they had to live with the consequences of their decisions.

We, the people, still have free will. And we will decide who we want to be our president. And whether or not God thinks he is the best candidate isn't necessarily relevant. Because God gives us free will, and we will have to live with the consequences of our decision as a country.

But one thing I do know, is this. Once that person is elected, it is up to us as Christians, and Americans, to support our leader. Romans 13 is clear that we must submit to governing authorities.  (Except in instances where doing so would be a violation of God's laws.)  Does that mean we ignore all their rules? No.

When Daniel was under King Darius, the administrators tried to find him in violation of any laws, but could not. They said, "We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God." (verse 5). Daniel obeyed all of King Darius rules, until he was told he had to worship King Darius. That was against the first commandment (No other gods), and so Daniel disobeyed this one edict. But make no mistake, after Daniel came out of the lion's den, he didn't reject King Darius. He continued to serve him, and prospered under Darius' reign. (verse 28).

We don't know who will win the election. What we know is that God will let us be ruled by whomever we chose. And once that choice is made, we need to serve our President. Most importantly we need to serve our God. Because regardless of who wins the election, the King - God, will still sit upon His throne.

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com