By Gary Semenyna, District Representative
Freedom. That is an interesting word isn’t it? Over the past couple of years, the word “Freedom” has taken on a much different meaning and slant. Well, I am not going to address that issue, but I do want to dwell on the topic of freedom and especially how we as Village Missionaries offer freedom to those who are around us.
Freedom from Sin
We have freedom in Christ. So that then begs the question “what are we free from?” There are a number of things we are now free from as a child of God, but I want us to think about one particular thing we are free from. We know that Christ died to set us free from sin and from a long list of laws and regulations. Christ came to set us free – not free to do whatever we want because that would just lead us back to slavery to our selfish desires. Rather, thanks to Christ, we are now free and able to do what was impossible before and that is to live unselfishly.
Freedom From Self
Let’s face it, before we became a child of God there was a good chance that we thought that the world revolved around us. We were the most important thing in this world, and we made sure that we ended up being number one. But since that freeing day of our salvation, we then start to realize the minuscule importance that we have compared to the greater scale of life. We realize that God is the only reason for our existence, and that we are still alive today because of His abundant grace, mercy, and love.
Freedom in an Unselfish Life
So how does this talk of freedom and unselfish living relate to a Village Missionary? Well we know that they communicate the gospel to community people and some of those people are responding to the freedom that only Christ can give in a person’s life. The unselfish part is that often times these missionary pastor couples are sent to a community that is far from their own family and friends. They do not have the “family” to come along side of them when needed and then there are many times that family gatherings or holidays are not available to them because of commitments to the church family or community that they are serving in.
Thank you, Village Missionaries, for giving up some of your freedoms so that you can share the freedom that only God can give.
Gary Semenyna is the District Representative
for BC and Eastern Canada
