With Veterans Day just past, this poem came to mind. Freedom is probably one of my favorite words in the English language because it carries such depth of meaning. My heart felt gratitude is stirred every time I see one of our countries finest in uniform. I always try to make it a point to let them know that I appreciate their service. But real freedom goes so much deeper than that. Real freedom is something that only Christ can make available to us. Unfortunately there are so many Christians that never learn to experience this freedom to its fullest, because of the choices they make. I can't imagine anything more precious or valuable. More than my gratitude for our service men and women, I am so grateful for my freedom from the penalty of sin. I am grateful that I can have the freedom from the power of sin, as I yield daily to the Holy Spirit. And I am most grateful that one day I will have freedom from the very presence of sin! I can't think of anything we are more in need of than real, true, lasting....
Freedom
If
I be lifted up
I
will draw all men to me
Jesus
speaking of his death
The
truth that sets us free
Real
freedom is in Christ
Free
to love and to serve
Free
to be different
If
you’ve got the nerve
Free
to escape
The
bondage of sin
Free
to have victory
Over
the old man within
Free
to avoid
The
scars and the shame
Freedom
to call
On
the power in His name
“Give
me freedom or give me death”
One
man once bravely said
We
make the choice between the two
By
the path we choose to tread
John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men unto me.
I Cor. 6:12 All things are lawful unto me,
but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not
be brought under the power of any.
When
I was young, I wanted “freedom” more than I wanted just about any other thing. Freedom to “do my own thing”, to make my own rules. I thought, as I’m sure many do (especially
in the teenage years), that having that sort of freedom was the key to
happiness. But the older I get and the
more I grow in grace, the more I understand that real freedom, that produces
genuine happiness and joy, is in yielding “my own thing” in order to do “His
thing”. There is a freedom in the will of God that cannot be understood or experienced any other way.
