Real Freedom

What does it really mean to be free? There is a common misconception concerning the nature of freedom... 

The Perception - Freedom, as many would define it is: "The ability to live as we WANT to live, FREE from ALL restraints."

Imagine a -SOCIETY- that operated under this definition of freedom…  What would 
our world be like if everyone were truly free simply to do as he or she wanted to do, without any limitation, without regard for anyone else?  This would not be freedom; 
it would be ANARCHY!  Such a society would be a lawless one and would soon self-destruct!

Now imagine an -INDIVIDUAL- who lives by this philosophy of living free from ALL restraints.  This is NOT freedom; this is SELFISHNESS! And selfishness is the root of SIN (James 1:13-14). “Whoever commits sin is a SLAVE of sin” (John 8:34), and sin is a cruel taskmaster!  No, real freedom is NOT being able to do what we WANT, free from all restraints.

The Reality - REAL Freedom is: "The ability to live as we OUGHT to live."  INDIVIDUALLY according to the RIGHT standard of God’s Word and COLLECTIVELY as One Nation UNDER GOD!  ALL else is simply rebellion!

The East Indian poet and Nobel Prize winner, Rabindranath Tagore, put it this way:

“Lying on my table is a violin string.  It is free.  I pull one end of it and it responds.  
It is free.  But it is not free to do what a violin string is supposed to do: to produce music.  So I take it, fix it in my violin, and tighten it until it is taut.  Only then is it 
free to be a violin string.  Only then can it sing.”

REAL freedom is when we become what we were created to be: children of God – free to do NOT as we please, but to do what pleases our Heavenly Father.  It is ONLY in Christ that we can have this liberty and only then will we understand the true meaning of life and real freedom.

The GOOD NEWS is that REAL freedom can be found in Christ! Through His sacrificial death on the cross, JESUS paid the ransom price to free us from the power of SELF and SIN. He died to set us free, but NOT free to have our OWN way or to indulge our selfish desires. That would lead us right back into bondage! He died for 
us so that we can be FREE to become children of God!

By the grace and mercy of God, we are saved and delivered from the bondage of sin and selfishness when we:  submit our lives to the Heavenly Father through faith (Acts 16:30-31), repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confessing Christ (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized (immersed) in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:38).  Then, we are FREE to become what God intended: His children, living for His purposes.

"Therefore if the Son makes you FREE, you shall be FREE INDEED" John 8:36)!

David A. Sargent, Minister

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

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