When I think of liberty, I think of that which is a part of the United States and the idea that I have freedom from tyranny and freedom of expression and freedom of religion and freedom of just about anything else one can think. I believe that freedom is a right that has been bestowed on me thanks to my living here and that it cannot be infringed upon. That is not fully true.
I have liberty as a child of God, but that liberty is from the bounds of sin and nothing else. I am still held to all that is before me, only in the wake of sin in my life, I have been forgiven.
“1The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;” — Isaiah 61:1 (ESV)
It is of sin that I have been forgiving and from the consequences of sin I am protected. I have been guaranteed nothing else in this life. I am free from sin and that is all.
The best part is that it is not just in the United States this freedom and liberty are available. Whether I am here, or traveling abroad to anywhere, God is with me and provides safety and liberty from the bounds of sin. I am free and for that I am thankful.
Now, I don’t just get to experience the freedom from sin. I have work to do, and that work is continual. I have to follow God wherever He would have me go and do whatever He would have me do. I have to do His work. To go along with the work He has for me, I have to repent continually for the sins I have committed and know as well as those I have committed and do not know (for they are there for sure). Just because I have been forgiven and have accepted Christ as my Savior and Lord, I am still a sinner and will struggle with sin each day. The evil one will continually come for me and just when I let my guard down and forget the work I am doing for God, he will be there to influence me in the wrong direction to take away my freedom.
Liberty is a gift from God and for that gift, I am obligated for thanks to Him. I have to remember that I have freedom, not from what the world might think, but from the consequences of sin as that debt has been paid.
What freedoms do you have in your life? Do you realize that those freedoms can be removed at any time? What if you put your faith in the one freedom that has been granted and will not be taken away, the freedom from sin?
Trevor's Thoughts 