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As we move into the month of July, marked especially by the 4th of July, we take off on vacations and journeys to replenish our bodies while hearing the words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” Wikipedia; Declaration of Independence. Our minds remember our classroom recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance that concludes, “with liberty and justice for all”. So we give words to our right to pursue happiness and we often think of liberty here used as the freedom to not take responsibility. So many are out and about this summer doing just that; pursuing happiness, enjoying vacations where they don’t have to take responsibility for work for a while. And it is good and important to rest in our much too busy lives for the well being of our bodies and souls. To some extent. For the last many Sundays during worship we have been reading out of the letter to the Galatians. Paul has been challenging this congregation to resist the hardened ‘rules and laws’ of the Jewish faith to find a new freedom or liberty for living through the Spirit of Christ who calls us to care for one another through love. Not a ‘have to’ but a Spirit-lead want to. It is out of this love that we find ourselves encouraging one another, seeing to justice for all and living an ordered life that is rich in the joy of Christ’s grace. And there is the rub. In order to live this life so fully, we need to dedicate ourselves to our Savior. Not by rules but by want. By realizing just how much we have been given by our God and wanting to thank God for such blessings. That is what worship is about. Being moved by the Spirit we come together to give thanks and praise to the One, God, who has given us our very lives. The One who has gifted us with abilities to make a living that allows us to live in ways that bring us joy and fulfillment. The Christ who has made it possible for us to get through the challenging times with confidence. Confidence that we are not alone and through Him can take our next step and the next, etc. until we have made it through that valley, find our spirit rejoicing in having met that challenge and move on. All of the plenty, the riches, the wonder of our lives is not of our making but God’s. God who has worked through us to achieve them. It is out of relationship with God, with Christ, that we begin to realize that all of life is not about us alone. Rather all of life is meant to be in relationship; with God, with one another. So time in worship and fellowship are important to give back and to support both. Time in study and prayer awakens our hearts to the importance of our neighbor in our lives and helps us reach out. Our pursuit of happiness becomes not selfish but other directed. The amazing thing there is that when we do for others, we find our own lives being blessed, enriched, brightened many times over. Because we have let go of the importance of self over others and there find our liberty and the will for justice. So as you go about enjoying this summer, and please do! Remember to praise God, to thank Christ for your life, for what you have. If you can’t make it to church, then remember to pray and do acts of kindness to those around you to the glory of God. Make time to give back to God in caring for your neighbor, in helping out a stranger, by being just in your actions so that liberty, justice and happiness for all may grow. So that God’s faithfulness may be praised. God bless you! Pastor Karen
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