Celebrating our freedom
Galatians 5:1 (ESV)
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
We have just celebrated the 4th of July, our Independence Day. As Americans, we enjoy a great amount of freedom. We are free to say what we want, we are free to engage in religious practices, we are free to protest when our government does something we don’t like, etc.
These freedoms were bought with a price. The brave men and women of our armed forces have served and given their lives for that freedom. Our Founding Fathers fought and died for the freedoms we enjoy today and we are forever in their debt.
However, even though we all enjoy this freedom, it is not absolute. The Bible teaches us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are slaves to sin, trapped by our own shortcomings, and bound for a life separated from God. The sacrifice that Christ made on the cross was not to make us better people or to give us good feelings, but to set us free from our sin and shame.
We no longer have to follow after that which leads to suffering. No longer are we bound to chase after a life unfulfilled. We, in Christ, can have true freedom. This freedom, like the freedom we have today, was given to us because of a sacrifice: the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
This week, accept the freedom that Christ offers so that you too may have true