I must admit, growing up in the United States during the second half of the 1900’s (there I go making myself sound really old again…), I developed a mindset concerning “freedom” that would have left a founding father aghast! What they, and so many after them, worked so hard to initiate and preserve is a far cry from the freedom that we demand in the USA today.

The desire of the early founders and settlers in the colonies was rooted in a desire to escape the tyranny of England’s King and laws. The freedom they desired was both civil and religious. And so, many of them risked life, health, and fortunes to achieve that freedom for themselves and fellow human beings –  both then and for the generations to come. Having said that, many of them realized that while freedom was hard to establish it was likely to be even more challenging to preserve. Why? Because the natural bent of humans is self-interest, self-preservation, and self-fulfillment. Acting according to those priorities is to oppose genuine freedom for all.

Given that our country was founded on Biblical principles, it’s easy to understand the breakdown of our society in light of the growing disregard of Biblical morality. Freedom has become a demand on levels never guaranteed, rather than a privilege granted due to the sacrifice of many; not only in military terms, but more so regarding the things we do and don’t personally allow ourselves.

If a right understanding of freedom is important for a country established as a righteous human endeavor, how much more so for Christ’s Church that was established at the cost of His own sacrifice. He dismissed His own rights, shedding His own blood, that we can be free to know, love, and serve the living God. Yes, free. To some that doesn’t sound like freedom, but servitude. To that I would say, service to the God of the Universe is the glorious privilege of those who have been set free in Jesus. He paid the price so we could be free to follow Him. Paul, the Apostle, in Philippians 2:3-11 tells how we are to view and use this glorious privilege:

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the Name above all other names, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

That definitely paints genuine freedom in a brighter light!

 I close with the last paragraph of chapter 23 in The Bridge from OneDayBow:

The freedom we are given came at the highest price:

Treat it as a costly gift of greatest sacrifice.

Remember that the tempters would like to see you fall.

Don’t settle for HereAndNow – it’s not Home, after all.