In America on the 4th of July we
celebrate our freedom. Freedom is something we value
highly in this country. How do you really become free?
How do you make sure you stay free?
It has taken a lot of effort for
us to remain free for the past 230 years of American
history. We are constantly working at protecting our
freedom. It’s the same with true spiritual freedom.
Over 2000 years ago the potential for our spiritual
freedom was won on a hard wooden cross. Everyone who
believes on the name of Jesus Christ has been set free.
John 8:36 explains real freedom, So if the Son
sets you free, you will be free indeed. It’s
possible that not everyone reading this lives in a free country,
but they are still spiritually free if they know the
Son.
What does spiritual freedom feel
like? How does it look? The only way to truly experience
freedom is when you break free from all attachments
to this earth. Breaking attachments is the only path
to freedom. America fought for independence from England
and you must fight for the independence from this world
and the grasp it has over you. You cannot fully experience
freedom until you become independent of this world
and dependent on the world beyond.
And that is why most of us live
as prisoners in this world. The Son has set us free,
but we have not become free indeed. Instead we become
prisoners to food, things, beauty, and possessions.
Our high debt is evidence of how bound we are. You
have heard the proverb, If you love something,
let it go; if it was yours, it will come back to you.
Few of us are willing to let go of the things we love,
so we can find the freedom that the Son has offered
us.
I’ve tasted freedom and I
can assure you that it feels as sweet and as confident
as the rushing wind before a summer storm. It changes
the world you live in and helps you experience the
same loves with deeper joy. Letting go of your attachments
to people, possession and esteem is the opposite of
what you have been undertaking your whole life. Your
very existence has been an effort to gain the approval
of people, comfort from your possessions and the esteem
from what you are able to accomplish.
Why not declare this a day of your
spiritual independence? Ask the Holy Spirit to help
you be free of the approval of certain people you have
been desperate to please. Decide to live without a
purchase you have been planning. In fact, decide not
to buy for a certain period of time. Choose to believe
that you are fully esteemed in God’s love for
you and choose not to rely on the esteem or lack of
esteem from others. If you do, you will be on your
way to true independence from the world, the freedom
Jesus Christ died to give to you.
