Insisting on Your Rights
John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (ESV)
In your life here and now, with all that you have going on, what are the things that you believe that you’re entitled to – the inviolable human rights that you should be allowed to live out without interference?
It seems that the list of human rights that we believe we’re entitled to is growing longer by the day. Freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of religion … who can argue against those? Easy … those who say things with which others don’t agree, those who associate with people whom others find unsavoury, those who believe your religion is a load of rubbish.
That’s what’s going on in our world today; people demanding that their views, their beliefs, their lifestyle, should be accepted and indeed applauded by everyone else in the name of diversity.
Now, if you and I disagree on something, and I insist that you should agree with me, and you insist that I should agree with you … how well is that going to work out, do you think?
I read something the other day that struck a chord with me: insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.
So if you’re someone who believes in Jesus, what are your responsibilities?
John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (ESV)
And actually, as the Apostle Paul later observed, Jesus laid down His life for us even while we, in our sin, were still His enemies.
It seems to me that the only right conferred to me as a disciple of Jesus is to take up my cross and follow Him. And that’s going to cost. It’s going to cost a lot!
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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