The Greatest Freedom
Rather listen to this blog? Listen to “The Greatest Freedom.”
This weekend marks our country’s annual celebration of freedom. Flags are flying everywhere. We honor all those who have given us this freedom. We are the land of the free, are we not?
I am thankful for the physical freedom I have. I mourn the freedom missing for so many, even here, in the land of the mostly free. As we have lately seen, shackles of racism, bigotry, bias, poverty, and discrimination are the shadows hiding under the fireworks and flying flags. Things are better than they were. We are progressing. But there is more work to do.
Even so, this isn't the most important freedom to celebrate or even chase.
If we were to free our people of every one of those shackles. If we could say every person in our country was equal in their freedom, we would still not really be free.
You see, true freedom isn’t about being able to go where you want, eat where you want, or even live as you want.
True freedom is can only be found in Jesus. Paul writes in his letter to the church of Galatia, “It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).
Jesus is our liberator.
The freedom Jesus has to offer transcends any freedom a government can give you. In fact, you could be literally bound and shackled and still be entirely free…if you have received Christ’s freedom.
His is a freedom from sin, from the curse of death. It is the freedom to call yourself an heir, adopted by God.
In Christ, we are free from legalism and the burden of perfection.
We are free from the opinions of others, from trying to please bosses, parents, or friends.
We are free to be the individuals God has made us to be: Unique, beautiful, and useful because of our differences.
Jesus gives us freedom from our past. We can be free of the “should haves” and the “what ifs” of yesterday, and from the sorrows, pains, and grief we may have faced then, as well.
We can be free of addictions, bitterness, self-loathing, and self-destruction.
We are free to be forgiven and to forgive.
The freedom Christ Jesus gives is not just a freedom from things. It is freedom for things.
As Paul says, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge in the flesh; rather serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is filled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
If you are a believer, you are free to love, serve, and do the good you have the opportunity to do.
You are free to seek God, find him, and be restored.
Brothers and sisters, what chains or prison can stand in the face of freedom like this? This is a freedom that does good in the prison cell and that loves its enemy.
Jesus’ freedom is unshakeable and unbreakable. It is boundless and life-giving.
It is oxygen and life.
I invite you, if you haven’t known the freedom Jesus can give, to seek it with all your heart. There is no greater prize.
As our country celebrates the ideals of freedom the world offers, I would encourage you to celebrate a greater freedom.
Church, take up the mantle of freedom in Christ. Be fully free, as Christ intends. Remember, “you are no longer a slave, but God’s child” (Galatians 4:7).
We have been set free.
We are free from sin and evil, and we are free for love.
It’s time to live in our freedom.
