Freedom

We fight. We push, we pull, we grit our teeth. We desire freedom. Freedom from our past experiences, our past mistakes, and our past selves. We claw our way to the freedom that God promises us, and when we are there, sometimes we don't know what to do with it.

When the Israelites became free, many times they longed to go back to captivity. Why? Because it was familiar. Familiarity and fear of change keeps us in bondage. When the prodigal son tasted freedom, he went hog wild. Literally. After spending every bit of his money, he ended up jealous of the food the hogs were eating. He tasted freedom and hit rock bottom. So why would God promise us freedom when it is so easy for us to either reject it or abuse it? What is he freeing us from?

The freedom Christ offers is the ticket to the abundant life He came to give us. It is no longer being held back by our past. It is no longer being criticized, judged, and punished by a law that no one can uphold. It is a breathe of fresh air. What we do with that freedom is up to us.

No one can serve two masters, but everyone is serving one. You could be a slave to the world, striving and pushing to meet unattainable standards of what you "should" be. You might be a slave to the flesh, chasing after the next thing to make you feel good, no matter how temporary or harmful it might be. Or, you could be a bond servant to God the Father who wants nothing but good things for you. Embracing the freedom that He offers means all things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial. Those not-so-beneficial things can be gates leading right back into captivity.

So what do you do with your freedom? What master do you choose? You have broken free, now where will you take your freedom?