“If the Son therefore shall make you FREE, ye shall be FREE indeed.” John 8:36
As I sit here praying and meditating on this verse many things come to my mind. In fact, they are in an over-abundance! Yet, they continue to float and bounce around with no seeming order … and no seeming hurry to settle down. I like decisiveness. I like clarity. I like black and white … no fuzzy pictures allowed! But, do you know what? God does not always bring the whole picture into focus at one time. I will move forward in trust that He knows what He is doing this month. He has a plan even though He has not revealed it completely to me yet. So, are you ready?
In just a few short days, we will be celebrating Independence Day aka July 4th, as it is often referred to as. Independence Day in the United States represents a freedom that was gained … through sacrifice. Am I correct? To be free means to not be subjected to the power and reign of another person or object.
Life, in general, brings its own bondage (control by others), but what we often do not recognize is that we face another bondage as well … a bondage to sin and Satan. It is true that as Christians God has saved us from that bondage of sin. He has destroyed the chains. If it is a done deal, why do we continue to allow sin to reign over us? I believe the Apostle Paul was wondering the same thing because he admonishes the Romans in chapter 6 verses 1 and 2, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”
The Galatians also must have been having issues with this very same thing because Paul then admonishes them to “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1 Let us face it, we all find ourselves faced with issues that drag us down, do we not? Some of those issues are sin and some are not, but even if they are not sin, they can cause us to sin through our actions and attitudes towards them.
I love Easter time as it is a time to reflect back on what Christ did for us that day there on Calvary. I love to hear the song sung, “It is Finished.” He finished the work there that day. Let us not go back and make Him suffer all over again because we cannot trust His work. He has set us FREE, my friend! Since He has set us free, we are FREE indeed [for sure; without a doubt; never to be changed]!
Proverbs 26:11 tells us that “a fool returneth to his folly” just “as a dog returneth to his vomit.” Are we doing that very same thing without realizing it? Are we continuing to live in bondage, when Christ so willingly set us free? We live near the original monument of the battle of Iwo Jima. We have watched the film numerous times. In that 36 day battle, there were over 26,000 casualties!! I do not know the total number who stormed those beaches and so valiantly fought there, but if you were to talk to them today and ask them to go back and fight that battle all over again, do you think they would do it? I wouldn’t! Once was enough, my friend! Let us not do the same thing in our spiritual lives. Our freedom from sin has been paid for. Let us accept that payment and let us live in freedom today!