Being Set Free From Freedom

Freedom is a strange bird. Its on the short list of those things that we value most. We will fight for it, die for it, kill for it, live for it, yet, ultimately, its the very thing from which we need to be rescued. All freedom eventually takes us down a path from which we need to be saved.

I hear the clamor on talk radio about how our freedoms are being threatened and how our nation will catastrophically change if the healthcare bill passes. Maybe it will, maybe it won't, but that is for another discussion. My point is that we are where we are because of freedom. The freedom to choose led our nation to elect this administration and fortunately in 2012, we can choose again. Christmas is approaching and I am sure that we will once again hear the outcry of saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." We will hear about equal time for Kwanzaa and Hanukkah but we are where we are because of freedom of religion.

Generally, we are all right with freedom as long as everyone chooses what we feel is the right and acceptable path. But freedom opens the door for all paths to be explored and will take us to places that we never intended to go. (Just ask Adam or read his story in Gen 3. He was the first to experience this truth.) And it is at the end of that path, my friend, when we will cry out to the only one who can save us, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Freedom in Christ is the only freedom that matters. Paul writes, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." I love that verse. Its the only freedom that will not lead us to enslavement, to self-destruction, and a bitter end. Its the only freedom that will lead to the peace, love, joy, life that we all long for.

George Bush once said that it was the mission of our nation to spread freedom around the world. I assume by freedom, he meant democracy. But democracy is not the answer for mankind. It may be a better form of government than communism, socialism, dictatorships, monarchs, etc., but it cannot change a heart, transform a life, set one completely free. Our mission is to set people free through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us not fight for our freedoms in such a way that hinders us from presenting true freedom to all for whom Christ died.