July 4, 2018

Freedom

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. – Galatians 5:1

What weighs you down today? What burdens are you carrying? What sin can’t you get past – either your own or someone else’s? What fear holds you back from God’s calling?

Christ came to set us free. But we have a choice. Do we give it all to Him and walk away from the yoke of slavery? Do we choose to live as free people?

We think of slavery as something horrible that happened back in the 1800s. It was. We think of being bound by drugs or drink or a job. But slavery? Really? In 2018? In the United States?

We consider ourselves to be free people. And, we are. Many have sacrificed their lives to allow us the freedom to bicker and point fingers. Many families have spent way too much time apart so that we could have the freedom to vote – even though most of us don’t. Do we ever consider the cost of our freedom?

Jesus Christ died a horrific death on a cross. He died for you and He died for me. Do you ever consider the cost of your freedom? Do you take it for granted? Can you even grasp the agony? Can you see the nails, the blood? Do you hear the mockers? Can you sense the fear in His followers?

Freedom comes with a cost, whether it is our freedom to live in this wonderful country or the freedom to choose Jesus, to choose forgiveness, to stand before God as blameless.

Jesus didn’t die so that we would remain slaves. He died so we could receive mercy, grace, forgiveness. So why do we wallow in it? Why do we cling to a past we can’t change? Why do we refuse to forgive ourselves and others? Why do we continue to live in bondage?

The world will tell us how we should live. It tells us what our purpose should be. It tells us what to value, what’s important, how to spend our day. The world doesn’t know Christ.

We are foreigners traveling to our forever home. We miss that point sometimes. We’re so busy living our “free” lives that we don’t realize we’re really slaves to a world that isn’t our home. We’ve become so protective of what we think is ours, that we forget we’re only caretakers of God’s possessions for a short time.

We are blessed this Fourth of July. We can watch fireworks and barbeque with friends. We can sleep late and go to the beach or mountains. We can live in relative certainty that we won’t wake up as captives in a foreign land. We are privileged. But are we grateful?

Never forget that we live in a free country because of the soldiers who protect us, fight for us, defend us and, sometimes, die for us. And never forget that Jesus Christ died and rose three days later to free our souls from death and eternal separation from God. On this day of celebration, take a moment to consider all that others have done for us and be grateful.