3rd August 2026

We all have obligations. They start when we are very young, and the responsibility grows as we get older. Unfortunately, I have seen too many who think that the world owes them whatever they desire. My world of influence was much smaller growing up, we did not have social media and had limited time on the television, but now there is no limit to those who try to influence the masses, and especially the young and vulnerable. We no longer look up information in outdated encyclopaedias; information is now at our fingertips. We have grown to have no patience at all, and we are spoiled with the abundance of things available to us.

Paul has been working his way through the freedom we have in Christ. We are released from the grip of sin and its consequences. We are now free to live as God wants us to; we are no longer chained to the grip of our fallen nature if we are in Christ. We are free from sin but now obligated to God. Paul uses the word slaves, but to me personally that seems too restricted, too limited, too devoid of joy we have in Jesus. We are not free to continue in our sinful ways of course, but free to live this life in a way that glorifies God, and this blesses us at the same time.

We have done nothing to earn this freedom – it was a free gift. We could not have saved ourselves no matter how hard we tried, but God is full of mercy and did what we could never do. Living for God is not paying him back for what he has done. Yet we are obligated to him. God has given us this physical life and given us life once more again to live in his graces – we have been born again into new opportunities. God has given us a second chance to live our life to his fullness. The least we could do would be to honour him and commit ourselves to him.

We live this life to its fullness because of his sacrifice for us, and we are guided and strengthened by the Spirit within us in order to do so. We are driven by our love for God. We do not just live for ourselves, or even that of others; though we need to give ourselves in service to them. We live this life for God, in service to the one who gave his all and all for us. Everything we do will touch the lives of those around us, and what we do not do will matter as well.

We have been given the honour to become children of God. What a privilege, and what a responsibility. As we learned to love, respect, and obey our earthly parents, so we as God’s children learn to love, honour, and respect our heavenly Father (Romans 8:15-16). As his children we represent our Father. What we do matters and shapes how people view him. How we live is a window to those our Father is calling to him. They see him in the way we live our lives. We have an obligation to live our best lives for him.

Local congregation:
You are welcome to attend one of our local church congregations located throughout the UK and Ireland. For details of your nearest local congregation check on our website, Grace Communion International | Grace Communion International under the ‘Churches’ tab, or ring +44 (0)1858 437099.

Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church