Freedom Isn't Free

For the bicentennial in 1976, my mother sewed period costumes for our entire family. I remember the hours and hours she worked on those outfits. To celebrate the 200-year birthday of our nation, we participated in parades and other events with those garments as we remembered the cost our forefathers paid to secure our freedom.

As we enter the 4th of July weekend, we remember the sacrifices made by countless men and women who have gone before us. Many paid the ultimate sacrifice to secure and maintain the freedoms we enjoy here in the United States. Others carry scars, in both their bodies and minds. Their stories speak volumes to the phrase, “Freedom isn’t free.” There is a cost to securing liberty and in keeping it.

Just as we reflect on our national freedoms this weekend, we must turn to an even greater freedom than the temporal type we have in America. The ultimate freedom comes through the saving work of Jesus Christ that He purchased through His death on the cross. This is eternal freedom.

Galatians 5:1 says it best. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

Jesus paid the ultimate price to secure our freedom. Because of our sinful nature, we were slaves to sin. We could not pay the price to redeem ourselves, since the price involved the shedding of an innocent person's blood. That person was Jesus. He is the only one who has never sinned. Think of the love He demonstrated for us by what He did to redeem us.

He left Heaven to come to earth taking on a human form with all its limitations. He was mocked and beaten while on trial for crimes He didn’t commit. He then died the most horrific death imaginable for something He didn’t do. Jesus endured all of this to pay the ransom price we couldn’t pay. By doing so, He purchased us out of the slave market and set us free!

As Jesus said in John 8:36, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Free indeed! The indeed carries the eternal and true nature of the freedom. Nothing can undo it.

Having freedom and enjoying it are two different things. If we have accepted Christ as our Savior, we are free. However, we often do not walk as though we are free. Sometimes we walk with burdens and chains we are not intended to carry. We live like prisoners in a cell, but have the key in our pocket. God is in the business of breaking bondages and shackles that hold us back from walking in the fullness He intends for His children.

If we experience times of challenge that make us feel weighted down, we must realize that is not God’s best for us. We can look to the promises found in His Word and apply them in our lives. To see those promises come to fruition, there is usually something we should do. We must walk in obedience to the commands God speaks to us through the Bible. Only when we obey those truths, do we see the fulfilment of His promises come to bear.

As we celebrate our national liberties this weekend, let us also reflect on the ultimate freedom we have in Christ Jesus. Now that is worth celebrating!