It all starts with the concept of freedom. Two hundred and fifty years ago individuals in the new land were talking about freedom. Freedom from the control of the king an ocean away. They wanted to make their own rules and their own way of governing. One that fit the new country and the people that were there. The idea of freedom grew into what we call the Revolutionary War. No, not everyone wanted to be separate from England and the king, but everyone always wants freedom.
That concept is not lost on us today. Though at times the freedom from government that our forefathers fought for seems to be diminished. Some laws we may have seem to restrict our rights, others we feel are proper to restrict behavior that does not fit with the life we see God desires for His creation.
As His creation, we want to be free; but, what is that freedom all about? We want to be free to live our lives a certain way. Free to avoid encounters with those whose lifestyles are not in line with our Heavenly Father’s plan. Free to make our own decisions. But that is not the freedom He explains through those He inspired years ago to pen: it’s not a set of laws but a lifestyle pleasing to Him.
The freedom we have is from sin. Now, that is not to say that sin has been vanquished from this world. We can look around us and see that it hasn’t. And if we are honest with ourselves, we can look into the mirror and see that it is still here in our lives. The freedom from sin is an eternal freedom, a freedom from the consequences of that sin which is an eternal separation from our Heavenly Father. The freedom we have is one we understand, but don’t fully live out in this world.
What we do live out in this world is just the opposite. We talk about freedom a lot especially in this country and at this time of year. And as citizens we do have an abundance of freedom. But, if you look though those words written by God’s inspired servants of the past, you will see a different pictured painted of our lives. The picture that is painted is quite the opposite, it is one of submission, one of self- sacrifice, one of slavery.
Hold it, how did we get from freedom to slavery? By understanding who we are individually and collectively. The month of July will be devoted to understanding all of this, first with our kickoff lesson this Sunday titled “Freedom”, then the following weeks in a series called “Down the Aisle--with Christ”.
As we go through the Independence Day celebrations, think about the freedom we have in Christ. The freedom from the bondage of sin that separates us from God. Then look forward to understanding the marriage that takes place because of that freedom we have.
Enjoying the freedom of marriage!
Randy