Galatians 5.13-15 & True Freedom

The Apostle Paul wrote the following about true freedom: "It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?" (The Message) How does this speak to you on this Independence Day?

Freedom

The 4th of July is upon us; a time for fireworks, parades, water games, and cookouts! As we get together with family and friends, we might not think about it, but it is because of our freedom we are able to celebrate. God has always intended for us to live in freedom; it was how we were created. Unfortunately, we all too often lose sight of what a wonderful gift freedom truly is. God with all His infinite power, wisdom, and influence could easily have programmed us like a computer to live according to His plan and purpose. But God felt we would better understand the nature of love when we freely come to Him on our own. We might think we live according to our own power and authority and captain our own ships, but in the end, we are living in God’s love. Sometimes we take advantage of our freedom to make our own choices but we can never run too far away from God’s. So how can we live to better experience this awesome gift that enables us to live in a special way? One simple way is to turn to Scripture and seek out God’s heart. The Psalms have this to say, “Oh, I'll guard with my life what you’ve revealed to me, guard it now, guard it ever; and I'll stride freely through wide open spaces as I look for your truth and your wisdom; then I'll tell the world what I find, speak out boldly in public, unembarrassed.” (Psalm 119.44-46, The Message) This Scripture encourages us to guard these freedoms now and guard them forever so we may live freely in search of God’s wisdom and truth. When we are confronted with injustice and a threat to our freedom, we guard it ferociously, both as a nation and as individuals. I know one thing that irritates me greatly is when I feel another is infringing upon my personal liberties. So I fight to maintain my own freedom through God’s love allowing me to make my own choices. But there is something else very important here. God gives us freedom so we can seek out truth and wisdom for ourselves. Just like love, our discovery of truth and wisdom means so much more when we come to it on our own. Sure, it would be much easier and far less painful at times if God would have just programmed us, but the sweet reward of the journey comes to us when we discover just how wonderful living freely can be. It is a wonderful gift to discover how awesome God’s love is, but there are others who are lost in the oppression of their own poor choices. That’s where we must come in. According to that passage from the Psalms, God wants those of us who have found freedom in wisdom and truth to go and share that with the world and to speak out boldly and without embarrassment. Then we can reflect that love to the world and show everyone what a blessing life can be when we turn to God. I want to leave you with a quote from William Havard who once said, “The greatest glory given to a free-born people is to transmit that freedom to [others].” So as we celebrate this 4th of July at the lake, around a grill, and watching the sky for the glory of lights, may we not forget that greater glory rests in our freedom and ability to share it with the world.