A Few Bars From the Jail -- Republished from July 4, 2005
It is Fourth of July weekend and we’ll take a short break from our trip up the road to Salvation to consider freedom. You see Fourth of July isn’t just a celebration of the birth of a nation it is a celebration of freedom as well.
Have you ever thought about the great costs our forefathers paid in order for our nation to be born and to gain the freedoms we so greatly enjoy? Just ten short minutes into the movie, Patriot and we see more landowners and people of stature willing to give it all to pay the price for freedom. A walk through Boston and you one can readily see that these “Freedom Fighters” had left everything behind in search of a greater good through the birth of a nation and the release from the tyranny of England.
Yes there were many poor sharecroppers and slaves that took up the cause for freedom, but it was the wealthy – the elite – the people of stature that debated the merits of freedom and ultimately lost everything of temporal value to gain our freedom.
Thus, it is for the cost of our freedom form sin and eternal death. The one who was present at the foundation of the world – who owned the cattle on a thousand hilltops – who knew no sin, came down from heaven and sacrificed it all for our peace with God. That one is Jesus the Christ.
We have all been reminded of those facts for a lifetime, and they need not be drummed into us any further. However, what we will consider today is the walk we have once we experience His freedom.
In America today people burn our flag – they spit on our national treasures and mock those willing to give the last full measure – all in the name of freedom. Those folk do not (in my humble opinion) walk worthy of the freedoms they enjoy. Oh sure, let us have a national catastrophe – a Pearl Harbor or 9-11 Attack and we all pull together under the name AMERICAN – but it seems short lived.
For many set free from the prison of sin and the grave, there seems a strange similarity. For a period – a day; week; month or even years – they walk united to Christ. However, somewhere along the line the short-term memory loss kicks in and slowly there is a reversion to the “Old Man.” They seem to forget the cost of their freedom. Paul in his letter to the Romans had this to say, “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, I do… Oh what a wretched man I am!” Rom 7:19, 24 KJV.
The Apostle Paul reminds us that we cannot forget the importance of our journey as we experience freedom – “That you would walk worthy of God, Who has called you unto His kingdom and glory.” 1Thes 2:12 KJV (italics mine). Whether freed from physical, emotional or spiritual jails we need to walk worthy – heads up, shoulders squared and eyes clear so that we can truly see the coming of our Lord – the one who has paid the price for our Freedom.
Have a great Fourth of July!
Scott