July 19

“There is no freedom without love and no love without freedom....Making love our aim is quite simply, giving God the freedom to act as He would act.”  Eugenia Price, Make Love Your Aim, Preface

I’ve been exploring for sometime what freedom in Christ is all about.  Eugenia has pointed out that freedom and love are “two sides of the same coin”.  I had come to this conclusion just before I found her book “waiting” for me on a sidewalk bookcase in front of the used book store I frequent, but instead of “love” I called it by another name--giving.  On the way to the bookstore I was listening to a Christian radio program on gift ideas.  It pricked my heart.  I realized that while I give of my money I give nothing of myself outside of my family anymore.  After seeing Eugenia’s book (all the books were just $1.74!) I decided to keep looking for more bargains.  I found another Eugenia Price book!  Now I was really encouraged so I continued browsing through the other racks.  There I found a book entitled “Giving Yourself Away” waiting for me.  I immediately realized that God had answered an unformed prayer---He’d given me the desire of my heart, which was to break it open and give of myself.  He’d caught my attention with the name of a favorite author so that I would find this other book to help me start the process of giving.  Giving and loving are one and the same just as loving and freedom can’t be separated.  You can never fully experience freedom from self unless you are able to give self away. 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  John 3:16