ONLY JESUS COUNTS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless.

Ecclesiastes 8:14 

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today is Independence Day in the United States, a day when we take time to celebrate the freedoms that make this nation so great. There will be parades and picnics and fireworks after dark. Families will take the time to gather together for food and fellowship.

Yes, the 4th of July every year is always a special day but the celebrations I mentioned are all worldly in nature. We observe how men and women have fought and won liberties that people enjoy today but in doing so, we miss the bigger picture. We miss celebrating the only One, Jesus, who truly provides freedom.

For on Independence Day, and every day we live for that matter, only Jesus counts.

Take a look at the world we live in and you will find that although there are freedoms, there are also inequities and injustice, even in America. Things aren’t perfect although sometimes we want to think they are. Thank goodness that in our verse from Ecclesiastes, Chapter 8, Solomon wasn’t afraid to share a frank observation about the society he lived in more than 2,000 years ago, an observation that still holds true today. Look at his words here:

There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. (v14)

Are the righteous immune free from experiencing judgment like the wicked?

The answer is absolutely not.

Do people who are wicked walk free on earth like the righteous when they deserve to be incarcerated for their evil deeds?

The answer is absolutely yes.

Sometimes the righteous are persecuted, murdered, or imprisoned for their faith, losing their freedom and treated as if they are criminals. If you don’t believe it, check out websites for International Christian Concern (http://www.persecution.org) or The Voice of the Martyrs (http://www.persecution.com). Someone righteous is being treated as if they are wicked this very moment.

In these nations, where persecution exists, the wicked, the ones who carry out acts of violence against the righteous are lifted up as if they were righteous themselves. Sinful acts are celebrated and even encouraged. Evil walks free while the holy suffer.

What in the world is going on? How can we celebrate freedom on a day when so many people are not free?

Again, it’s all about Jesus because He is the only one who counts.

Friends, we can’t gauge freedom in life on what happens in the world. No worldly expression of freedom is perfect just as no man or woman is perfect. As long as people walk this earth, righteous people will experience what the wicked deserve and the wicked will seem to go unscathed from their sinfulness. We need to remember that our only true freedom comes from Jesus Christ alone. The scriptures affirm this fact in the Gospel of John:

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

Want freedom?

You have to have Jesus for when it comes to being liberated now and forever, He is the only One who can give it to you.

In the end translation, only Jesus counts.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com