THE MEANING OF FREEDOM

(I apologize for the length of this post, but we’ve been really busy lately and I didn’t have time to write a longer one.)

I’ve been thinking a lot, lately, about freedom. (Which may or may not have something to do with the type of novels I’ve been reading recently). What does it really mean to be free? And is it worth the enormous price we had to pay for it? In this post, I hope to answer those questions. Not only for you -my faithful blog readers- but also for myself.
Down through the years I’ve had the awesome privilege of experiencing so many different cultures, and I can tell you right now what makes America the greatest country in the world. It’s not
just the freedoms we have here, it’s the fact that this nation was founded by a group of Christian’s whose motive for founding a new nation wasn’t just so they could have the right to do and say whatever they wanted without fear of oppression; it was so they could have the religious freedoms that were taken away from them in their homeland. That was the whole reason they left their homes and all they had ever known. Because they knew they could never be truly free unless they were willing to seek God first, with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. To put him above every other thing in life.
I entreat you today to never take your own freedom for granted, because you never know when it might be taken away from you. The people in foreign countries who risk their lives in order to meet together so they can worship God understand this. The martyrs who have given their lives in the name of Christ understand this. Why is it so hard for Christians in America to grasp this concept? Because we have the freedom those people are so desperately longing for, to meet together and worship God as we see fit.
We sit in comfortable, cushioned seats every Sunday morning while they’re sitting on cold, hard dirt floors. We have nice church structures with lights, running water, heat and air conditioning while they meet in underground churches where it’s dark, stifling hot or freezing cold, damp and dirty. So why are we the ones complaining? Because we don’t understand what ‘religious persecution’ really is. Our only concept of religious persecution would be if the AC unit went out, or if a stall in the bathroom was out of order and we had to wait in line an extra two minutes. We don’t understand how good we have it here in America with our so-called freedom. So what’s the purpose of freedom if we abuse it?
In the beginning God gave us a choice. He created man with free-will, which means we have the ability to reason and make decisions for ourselves. He gives us rules and tells us what we can and can’t do, but he gives us the choice to obey, or willfully disobey. Unfortunately, most of the time we choose the latter. So why did God give us a choice if we make the wrong decisions most of the time anyway? Because he wanted us to have the freedom to make our own choices and think for ourselves. He could have created us as puppets and controlled all of our thoughts and actions, but he isn’t some power-hungry tyrant. God is good and God is love. What kind of love takes away a person’s freedom?
I don’t mean to offend anyone, but sometimes you have to expose the lies in order to reveal the truth; and the truth is, we are so blessed. Please don’t put aside “In God we trust” for “In man we trust”. I don’t know about you, but I believe that God is the very best place to put your trust. Don’t rely on yourself, for the strength of man will surely fail, but the power of God will endure forever.
So, to get back on track, let me just remind all of you that your freedom wasn’t free. An enormous price had to be paid so that we could live in a free nation. An even bigger price had to be paid so we could have our spiritual freedom.
In short, I can give you a simple answer to what freedom really is:
DICTIONARY DEFINITION- a. The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint – b. The state of not being imprisoned or enslaved – c. The state of not being subject to, or affected by, a particular undesirable thing.

As for definitions b. and c., I would say that you could relate these two with sin. After all, I find sin to be a very undesirable thing. My point is, we’re all enslaved in the grasp of sin; have been ever since we were born. We can’t escape it, no matter what we try to do. We can try to talk right, act right, hang out with the right people and, overall, live right. But that doesn’t make the fact that we’re sinners drowning in our own sin and mistakes any less true. So, if we’re enslaved from the time we’re born, how then can we ever find freedom? Well, I’m glad you asked that, because I happen to have the perfect answer for you. Or rather, I know someone who does.

BIBLICAL ANSWER FOR YOUR CURRENT PROBLEM- If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. ~John 8:36

True freedom comes from accepting God’s gift to you of eternal life. He sent his precious, only son to die for our transgressions and to save us from, not only our sins, but ourselves. For if the Son makes you free, friends, you’re free indeed. That’s where true freedom comes from, and if you truly have found freedom in Christ, I should imagine you would be on fire and excited about sharing that freedom with others who have yet to discover it. If your schedule is too busy to fit in leading lost souls to Christ, you might need to get your priorities straightened out. You’re free, so go make a difference in your world.

-AbbyJoy