Freedom

John 8:36

Everything that can be said about freedom has surely already been said. We all know freedom isn’t free. We know the cost of liberty is for many the ultimate sacrifice. Even as we write and read these words the price of freedom, the cost of liberty, is demanding the life-blood of our finest men and women in conflicts around the world.

There is no question that the freedoms we have enjoyed in the United States of America are eroding. We are being swept along in the flood of evil that is inevitable when men are bent on worshipping the created rather than the Creator. Religion seeks to establish its rule in the lives of those who know not God. Religious fervor demands allegiance to humanism and embraces the worst in humankind leading to the destruction of nations and societies and ultimately, except for the grace of God, civilization itself.

In John 8:36, the Bible says, “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” We understand clearly that the context here is freedom from the tyranny of sin and bondage of legalism that is a part of the liberation which Jesus Christ brings to those who trust Him and embrace Him as Lord and Savior. But it is more than that.

We can be free from the depression and discouragement which plagues those whose focus is on this world and its myriad pleasures. We can recognize that life and death are integral parts of a relationship with Christ. We will indisputably spend eternity in the presence and power of the Lord God of Heaven, but the intimacy we seek is as much a part of today as it is tomorrow.

We can be free from the self-serving power and prestige of this age and discover the joy and tranquility of surrendered lives living out the principles of faith, hope, and llove. We can move beyond the sting of bitterness and pride left behind by previous generations to a life of humble service, giving, as did Christ, to those in need and those left lloveless by the cruelties of sin.

We live in the greatest nation in the world. Even with all the changes that have come recently, we are remarkably free to be about our lives, our work, our faith. We can come and go much as we please, free to worship, to gather together in the houses of prayer we have built, to establish lloving relationships with others believers, and carry out our calling in Christ.

We may lack the political support of a citizenry that has succumbed to that which Patrick Henry, the patriot of earlier years, suggested when he said, “Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is impossible that a nation of infidels or idolaters should be a nation of free men. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, (and) a corrupted public conscience, are incompatible with freedom.”

Let freedom ring! Across the land and through the houses of worship, let real freedom ring!