FREEDOM is a gift and a gift we should never take for granted. Why is that? Because freedom has to be purchased, bought. As we in America celebrate the 4th of July today and the 250th year of the Declaration of Independence, we are reminded of the cost of our freedom. The early settlers that came to America seeking religious freedom paid hefty prices… the early days were filled with loss, disease, death, starvation, and war. In the end, though, freedom was won. And throughout the generations, many have given their lives so that our freedom will not be lost.
But Christians have even greater freedom… freedom that was bought with a hefty price. The blood of Jesus. When Jesus said, “It is Finished,” He in essence was saying that what He came to do was completed. And what was that? To set us free from the bondage of the law, sin, and eternal condemnation. And the Bible tells us that Jesus did it with joy in His heart (Hebrews 12:2). The prophet Isaiah wrote about Jesus in Isaiah 61:1: “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.”
So, I would say American Christians are blessed beyond measure. We have been awarded freedom in our citizenship… both earthly and heavenly citizenship. Most of us do not realize the incredible blessing this is. It saddens me to see the growing hatred toward America from people within our country and also Christians still bound up in chains. They have been set free but have yet to experience it.
So, the question becomes, what do we do with this freedom? We respond by appreciating our country’s freedom and those who laid their lives down for it. Showing allegiance not disdain. And we respond to our Christian freedom by letting the cross strip us of our sin, our bondage, our chains, our hindrances (Hebrews 12:1-2). If you ever fall into the water with jeans on, the best thing you can do is get those wet pants off because they will bring you down. Jeans become very heavy when they’re wet. The writer of Hebrews says the same thing… if we don’t strip those things off, they will keep us from living. We need to stop carrying the burdens, the generational sin, the chains squeezing the life out of us. Come to the cross and lay those things on the altar. When we do that, we are truly free. Free to enjoy the rich blessings of our Christian life… the life Jesus died for. And thank Jesus for the freedom He has given us. Let freedom ring today. Celebrate it.