Freedom is the ability to control myself. It is the ability to administer self-discipline. Freedom gives me the chance to work hard. It is the way I learn my limits and how much I can give. Freedom is the choice to do right. It is the chance to know Christ as my Savior, the privilege of denying myself for His sake. Freedom is the promise of Heaven. Without Christ, I cannot know freedom.
Christ's freedom gives me the chance to stop and choose a better way. His freedom gives me the comfort of knowing Someone wiser than I is overseeing my life. His freedom gives me a guidebook to order my life by. Freedom in Christ is to be tucked under His wings. It is to know the reality of love. But I can choose to not be free. I can choose bondage.
Bondage is the scope in which I find how much something else controls me. Bondage pushes me beyond my limits for the sake of fear. It does not allow me to give to others. Bondage makes the wrong choice look better than the right one, and it is how I never learn things. If I am in bondage, I may not choose Christ. Bondage ultimately bars me from Heaven.
Freedom is a choice. Bondage is a passive state of being. I can choose to be free. I can choose to want to be free, but I must start with one first step. Bondage is where I am stuck without the love of Christ.
The love of Christ is offered: I must choose it. The power of Christ is omnipotent, but I must choose to let Him work. The grace of Christ is far reaching, but I must let it cover me. The peace of Christ is indwelling, but I must choose to embrace it. The joy of Christ is deep, but I must draw from the wells of joy. The presence of Christ is real; I must choose to dwell in it. The freedom of Christ is always available, but I must walk in it.
There is no fear in love, because perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4:18
I think the American culture holds on to what they call Freedom as if they want freedom from most all rules. But our laws ensure the freedom of law abiding citizens
ReplyDeleteFreedom without any laws leads to oppression of the weaker or poorer people.
In the first lines of Freedom above, you identify the true freedom that starts with being free from whatever bondage we have, through sin, bad habits, or how other people added burdens to us.
Thanks for sharing what you wrote on true freedom .