Live by God’s Grace At birth we have no option: we are dependent on others to care for us. As we grow we plead for more independence – often more than our parents are willing to give us. Then we gain much more independence as adults. But if we live long enough we will usually lose a measure of the independence we once enjoyed as our physical abilities decline. We may even become totally dependent on others as we were at birth. We prefer to be independent but we know we will always have some limitations. In fact, God intends for us to understand that we are always dependent on Him. Like the train that has its greatest freedom by staying on the tracks, we must learn to depend on God’s grace to have the greatest freedom and joy. Real freedom and joy come from Him. If we rebel against the limits He places on us we will always be dissatisfied. But by losing ourselves in Him we enjoy life. In fact Jesus tells us that it is not the one who keeps his life but the one who loses his life in Christ that preserves it. (See Luke 17:33.) May your life be lost in Christ so that it will be preserved eternally. We want you to have true freedom and joy in life and these can only be yours in submission to Jesus Christ our Lord.