FREEDOM

What does freedom conjur up in your mind? The ability to do whatever you want? Being released from bondage? Being under the control of no one? Spiritually speaking, we are all under the control of someone: either God or Satan. It is that simple. Spiritual freedom means being released from Satan's control via our flesh and being freed to be a child of God-"for you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out 'Abba, Father.'" We are free to be God's children-it is not a law, it is a relationship! The spirit of slavery is the law and our complete inability to keep it. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death." "For what the law could not do....God did!" The law could not save us, so God did, by sending Jesus. The law could not bring us freedom, so Christ did on the cross. We are freed from our inability to keep the requirements of the law-we now have the Spirit of God indwelling our very being, enabling us to keep the law. But now it is not an act of compulsion or fear but an act of divine love of the One who indwells us and indeed, gives us our very life. James calls it the law of liberty. How can a law be liberating? Isn't the law to restrain us? Hold us back? Deny us things? What exactly is God's law? "The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul." "Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ" Gal. 6:2 "Therefore whatever you want others to do for you, do so for the, for this is the Law and the Prophets." Matt. 7:12 "And He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment. And a second is like it, 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself.' on these tow commandments depend the whole Law and the Prohpets." Matt. 22: 37-40 Wow. Love God and love people-do to others what you would want them to do to you. Bear each other's burdens. Have you ever done that? Has anyone ever done that for you? That, my friend, is true FREEDOM. There is nothing like being filled with God's love to the point that it spills over onto your fellow man-your undeserving enemy, your dearest friend. There is no freedom like the freedom from having to sin-the freedom of the soul to bask in God's forgiveness and be rid of all guilt. It is a small slice of heaven and you simply cannot explain to someone what it is like. They just have to experience it for themselves. Freedom from being bound to a law we can never possibly keep, freedom from the condemnation that comes therein-"There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8. Freedom from the punishment that goes along with said condemnation. Jesus took it for us-He bought our freedom. Now we are free to love from a pure heart, free to fear no man, free to forgive our enemies and not be held captive by their hatred, free to love the unlovely, knowing full well that God's love is always enough. Free to do what is good and right-not under compulsion, but out of love for our Redeemer. And we are free to love freely, with no concern for our own welfare or repayment, "For you were called to freedom.......through love, serve one another." Now that is freedom.