Freedom

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32).

Freedom: autonomy, self-determination, independence, choice. All very desirable and rightly so, yet wrongly applied to the hurt of self and many.

Freedom is recognizing proper authority and submitting to it. The rules, guidelines and those in charge are safety for our being and comfort to the soul.

It is not personal preference and a life fueled (ruled) by feelings. It is knowing God’s truth and utilizing it in living.

“Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” is a well-known phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence. The phrase gives three examples of the unalienable rights that the Declaration says have been given to all humans by their Creator, and which governments are created to protect.

Unalienable rights are the rights that can never be forfeited. They’re fundamental parts of humanity, the basis for moral (good, right, honest, decent) interactions between people, and are irrevocable.

It is the freedom the very soul desires. It is the liberty that one experiences when set free from the bondage of sin. These must not be only recognized individually but used communally for any society to function properly.

Liberty (freedom) is realizing those in authority provide protection and safety in situations you have no understanding (insight) or control of. It is done in all aspects of living, recognized little and less willing to admit/submit to.

Human nature left on its own devices has always been a wretched failure at explaining the meaning and destiny of life. On our own we seek pleasing ourselves in whatever we “feel” is good. Yet, pleasure is the anesthesia for deadening the pain of empty living resulting in the bondage of sin.

Laws and rules are too often seen as restrictive, whereas in reality they are protective and provide wide, broad places to operate. You find that true liberty is living as you should, not as you please.

You cannot exist and handle life by living on personal preference while ignoring authority. God is the King of our soul; He alone needs to fill it. His truth must not only be known but applied.

Let God rule your life because you can’t.

Psalm 119:45: And I will walk at liberty (in a wide place), For I seek Your precepts.

Free Indeed,

Submitted by Pastor Dave Jagemann