Recently, there was an incident that caused some conflict in my hometown in America. There was an uproar on Facebook, resulting in many debates. As I read these debates and participated in one I kept seeing the word rights used over and over again. People saying "She had the right to do this." or "She had no right to ask this of her." Even I said, "I have the right to share my opinion just as much as anyone else." It was amusing for me to realize that as citizens of the United States we tend to take our rights and freedoms for granted. There are millions of people in the world that are currently ruled by governments that allow their people very few rights at all. There are people who have no say in who leads their country. There are people who are being persecuted for their beliefs, because they do not have the right to believe whatever they choose. There are people in the world who get condemned for saying bad things about their leader, because they do not have the right to free speech. In the country that I live, people do not enjoy the same rights that we do as Americans, and this reminds me that I should be thankful for every right and freedom that I have as a citizen of the US. It reminds to be thankful that in two years when I am eighteen I will be able to vote for who I want to be the leader of my country. Just ask my mother, the thought of voting fills me with elation. We should never take our rights for granted. We should take a moment each day to remember and thank our forefathers for all the hardship they endured so that we can all have the freedom to express ourselves, as I am doing in this blog.
There are however, more important rights. Not only do rights come from governments, there are rights that come from God. God has given us the "right" to choose whether or not we believe in him. Some of you may be thinking God hasn't given us any rights at all. If you look at the Ten Commandments, you can easily see the choices that we have. The thing is that we have the choice to decide whether we want to follow these rules or not. If you have chosen to believe in God, then you will follow these rules.
Just as God has given us choices, he did the same with Jesus. Jesus had the choice to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus could have decided not to go through all of the pain of sacrificing Himself for us, and gone back to heaven peacefully. Yet, He decided to take the fall for every single one of our sins. For that I will forever be thankful. We could choose not to believe in Jesus, and what he did. We could choose not the follow the rules God has given to us, but why would you refuse such an amazing, free gift? Why would you choose to rebel against a man who suffered the pain of crucifixion for you? Why would you choose to rebel against God when he gave us the right to choose whether or not to follow his rules. Just like a father who grants his son the choice of obeying, our Father in Heaven has done the same for us. I for one have chosen to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior and therefore live my life according to God's laws. The right to choose to do this will forever be my most treasured right.
Just as God has given us choices, he did the same with Jesus. Jesus had the choice to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus could have decided not to go through all of the pain of sacrificing Himself for us, and gone back to heaven peacefully. Yet, He decided to take the fall for every single one of our sins. For that I will forever be thankful. We could choose not to believe in Jesus, and what he did. We could choose not the follow the rules God has given to us, but why would you refuse such an amazing, free gift? Why would you choose to rebel against a man who suffered the pain of crucifixion for you? Why would you choose to rebel against God when he gave us the right to choose whether or not to follow his rules. Just like a father who grants his son the choice of obeying, our Father in Heaven has done the same for us. I for one have chosen to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior and therefore live my life according to God's laws. The right to choose to do this will forever be my most treasured right.
- Reagan 白雅珍
