Freedom 

   “Brethren, you were called to freedom.  However, make sure that you do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.  Instead, serve one another with love.” (Gal 5: 13) 

   God, in His wisdom, granted us freedom of choice, a free will.  He will not stop us even if we use that freedom for evil purposes.  That is the blessing and curse of free will; we choose whether we are to be evil or holy.

   Freedom is misused in so many ways in our society.  We demand freedom of speech, even when that speech is filled with hatred and anger.  We demand the freedom of our own bodies, even when we are destroying the body of the baby within us.  Freedom of choice has become a religion unto itself.  We demand the freedom to do what we want, when we want, with whomever we want.

   Though society demands many freedoms it also refuses some basic freedoms.  The freedom to express ourselves freely and speak openly of our faith in God is restricted.  Public prayer is looked upon as an infringement of something called the freedom “from” religion; a subtle way of telling us that we can’t impose our faith upon the antichrists who would eliminate God from the public square.  Our freedom, unlike theirs, has limits.

   Freedom is a gift from God.  But like all gifts the Father gives it can be misused or even refused.  He offers the freedom to join Him in His heavenly kingdom, yet many choose the misery of hell even though they deny both heaven and hell.  However, their denial of a fact doesn’t lessen the validity of that fact.

   On the cross Jesus purchased for us freedom from sin.  He paid the price to redeem us from our sins and offers the strength and help we need to avoid sin.  He gave us the opportunity to spend eternity in God’s heavenly kingdom.  By our actions and misuse of freedom we can choose hell instead, but why would anyone in their right mind do so?