What does that word "Freedom" mean to you?
When you hear or sing our National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, and the end of the song says, “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave”, how do you feel? Or how about Lee Greenwood's song, "God Bless The U.S.A." where he sings, "I thank my lucky stars to be living here today cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can't take that away, and I'm proud to be an American were at least I know I'm free, and I won"t forget the men who died that gave that right to me and I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today....." In 2001 after 9-11, that song seemed to be played around the clock for months, maybe even years. The emotional attitude of America was high because of 9-11 but America had no idea that their freedom was about to be taken away, not because of the Taliban and Osama bin Laden but by our own congress and president when they passed and signed into law the Patriot Act. I have to ask, how do feel today when you hear that song especially when you think of January 6, 2021 and realize that freedom of thousands of Americans were taken away from them with no due process of the law. Then you have to ask, "Are we really FREE? Freedom in the U.S.A., think about it, are we really free just because we live in the United States of America today? I hope you are contemplating what I'm saying.
What crosses your mind about freedom? What do you think Freedom is? Why do you think "Freedom" has been pounded into our heads from day 1? I'm willing to bet you've heard the saying, "Freedom isn't free". Or maybe when you've heard a military fighter jets fly overhead somebody said "That's the sound of Freedom". What do those sayings make you feel? I could delve deeply into this subject, but even though it's near and dear to my heart, I'm going to leave this paragraph with a question. When you think about freedom, true freedom where do you think it comes from? Hint, it does not come from man.
Below is the definition of freedom from the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary: the word liberty falls under the definition of freedom. So is this definition, freedom and liberty are synonymous:
Civil liberty (freedom) is the liberty of men in a state of society, or natural liberty so far only abridged and restrained, as is necessary and expedient for the safety and interest of the society, state or nation. A restraint of natural liberty not necessary or expedient for the public, is tyranny or oppression. civil liberty is an exemption from the arbitrary will of others, which exemption is secured by established laws, which restrain every man from injuring or controlling another. Hence the restraints of law are essential to civil liberty.
Even though we’ve been told we are free are whole lives how do you think our lives fit into the previous definition? From where I stand, it looks very bleak.
We must remember, this world is run by the Father of lies and the great deceiver, Satan. He never knew the truth and he hates God’s creation. We have to understand and acknowledge that we were born into a fallen world and we’ve been in spiritual warfare since before we were born. If you haven’t acknowledged that, it’s time to realize the battle we are fight is real. And, since the battle is real, then it's also very important to know true freedom. True Freedom comes from Jesus. In John 34:36 Jesus said, "34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. Once you accept Jesus as your personal savior, He sets you free from bondage, free from fear, free from worry, simply put, your set free from the bondage Satan had you in. Then you unleash the power and authority of God within yourself. You become an adopted son or daughter of the most high and the creator of the heavens and earth. Romans 8:31 states, "...If God is for us, who can be against us"? Now, think about that associated with freedom.
One final thought, if you don't know Jesus as your personal savior you'll have no freedom. Simply put: Know Jesus, Know Freedom!
Comments