Freedom

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1).

As Americans, we have been raised to prize freedom.  Freedom to speak our minds without fear of retaliation.  Freedom to live where we want, work where we want, vacation where we want.  Freedom to gather in protest, so long as things don’t get violent.  Freedom to worship the LORD without governmental interference or regulation.  We have freedoms that many in the world can only wish they had.

But you come right down to it, none of us are as free as we’d like to think.  You are bound by the laws of nature; if you jump off a cliff you will fall and get injured because you cannot defy gravity.  You are also limited in what you can do by the laws of the land; you cannot drive whatever speed you want and expect to always get away with it.  How you spend your time is limited by teachers and bosses and the needs of your family.  Your decisions are limited by your attitudes and beliefs—if you feel that telling lies is wrong, you are restricted to speaking the truth.  Your life is fenced in by your prejudices and worldview; if you think that something is impossible, you won’t even take a shot at it before giving up.  And your guilt limits how you react to things; feeling like a failure will keep you from reaching your full potential.  We like to think we are free and in many ways we are, but every day we operate within strictures set on us by the world and our own expectations.  We are so used to these restrictions that most of the time we don’t even notice them.

Jesus said, all things are possible with God (Mark 10:27).  The Lord Christ has sovereign power over everything.  He can suspend the laws of nature, for He set them in place.  He used five loaves of bread and two fish to feed a crowd numbering in excess of 5,000 people.  He made storms go away with a command, healed the sick of incurable diseases, and even raised the dead back to life.  Jesus has the power to free us from everything that ties us down.  He enlightens our minds, freeing us from the limits of our prejudices.  He forgives our sins, freeing us from guilt so that we can tackle our daily challenges with renewed vigor and confidence.  And Christ frees us from having to keep God’s Law perfectly in order to gain access to heaven; during His years with us here on earth, the Son of God obeyed every aspect of Holy Law on our behalf, doing for us what we were unable to do on our own.  In Christ, we have a freedom that no one else can truly know—not unless we tell them why there is such incredible peace and joy in our hearts.