Into Freedom

Freedom is one of the concepts that is most often defined by its opposite or by what is lacking.  Freedom is the absence of necessity, coercion and constraint in choice or action.  Freedom is the liberation from slavery or restraint from the power of another.  It is independence or the state of being exempt from some negative force, being unrestricted or unlimited.

Even within the spiritual context we often define freedom by what we are free from.  Freedom from shame and guilt, from the force of sin and death.  People speak of being free from depression, from addiction or negative habits.

We don’t talk as often of what we have been set free into.

Galatians 5:1 says, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” 

I would paraphrase this verse in this way: Christ set us free so that we would enjoy our freedom. So, steward your freedom and don’t allow yourself to exchange it for another kind of oppression.

The freedom we have by faith in Jesus is the greatest of all freedom.  The expanse of this freedom knows no limits!  In Christ we are freed from guilt, shame, fear, inadequacy, confusion, hopelessness, and death.  While this is powerful, the real power lies in what we are freed into; joy, peace, radical love, transformation, increasing abundance.

Romans 15:13 says; “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

God has the abundance of hope!  He fills us with “all joy and peace” when we believe in Him, so that we are like Him – abounding in hope.  All this happens by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We may be free from hopelessness and depression… (and that is no small thing!)  but it is another thing entirely to be full of joy and peace so that you overflow with hope!

It is not enough to only be freed from fear.  That is powerful, but greater is the confidence and boldness that comes with being so convinced of love and potential that you are willing to take risks.  That is true freedom.

It is not enough to only be free of shame and guilt.   Jesus died as the payment for our sin, not just to take our death, but also to give us His life.  The freedom from the guilt and shame of sin is only the beginning.  His payment was enough for the fullness of our freedom.  The freedom from shame and guilt is the beginning of the restoration of our innocence.  We are set free into a new life of joyful expectation of good coming our way.  That is what hope is:  a joyful expectation of good coming towards us.

If Jesus set us free for the sake of freedom, then we need to ask ourselves what we are doing with that freedom.  How is freedom increasing in my life? 

Being set free by faith in Jesus is more about Him and the life He offers you and I, than it is about the life we lived before encountering Him.  The testimony of all that we have been freed from is only as powerful as what we do with that freedom we have gained.  What work has the power of freedom accomplished in my life?  In yours? 

I want to live increasingly identified by what I am embracing and pursuing not only what I have let go of, overcome or conquered.  I have been set free from depression and hopelessness.  I have been freed from self-hatred and the pattern of abusive relationships.  I am eternally grateful for what I have overcome and the work of transformation God has done in my life.  But I am not defined by simply what I am now free of.  These freedoms are a foundation, not the end result. 

What Jesus is doing in me and in you is greater than our past experiences.  God is always at work in us, doing a new thing, restoring, renewing, transforming and awakening.  God is the one who has promised that we would be transformed as our mind is renewed.  (Romans 12:2) 

 

You are more than the sum of your past experiences!  They have formed you and they influence the person that you are, but you are more than just that.  You are more than the sum of your abilities and knowledge.  These things shape you and define you, but not exclusively.  You are also your potential, your passions and your dreams.  You are defined also by the values and purposes you feel strongly, those things no one could talk you out of.  Your past is only part of your story!  Your past and all that you have been freed from is your foundation of freedom.  You are meant to enjoy that freedom and increasingly experience it.  That adventure of growth and discovery is what the Christian walk is all about. 

Our freedom is not merely what we are no longer enslaved to.  Our freedom is Jesus and the hope He calls us into.  Our freedom is the innocence of living in this state of being loved unconditionally, of being pre-approved by God.  Freedom is the wonder of transformation and redemption, of seeing God fulfill His promise of working all things together for our good. (Romans 8:28)  Freedom is experiencing the infilling of joy and peace that leads to abounding hope!  It is the mystery of friendship and partnership with God!

We are a people set free – into freedom that is far greater than simply the absence of what once bound us.