Freedom Pt. 1: This is a working title, or is it???

Summer

I remember when I was in school. It didn't matter whether you were in first grade or twelfth; when summer vacation came, it was a time to celebrate. There were no homework, statewide testing, or trying to stay awake during Weinburg science classes (for those who don't understand, he was boring). 

Summer vacation was freedom. I remember when I was too young to have a job (great time of life), riding bikes with my friend Jimmy, playing video games with my brothers or my friend Jared, and sleepovers where all you ate was junk and watched movies like Indiana Jones. It was a time where rarely did you feel the burden of life's scorn. It was a beautiful time of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and swimming pools!

To be free..

No one's as free as Solo...

As people get older, I think we start losing that sense of freedom. Summers will never feel the same. I hope in some way, through my soon to be daughter or son, I will be able to see that freedom again. It's funny because we tend to forget the feeling of freedom. I believe it has a lot to do with life.

I mean look at the world around us. We are constantly looking for that feeling of freedom we once had. We look to things to help take it's place. Some people use entertainment like movies or video games. I will admit, I watch movies to get out of my head. Some people use relationships to find some freedom. We hang out with that friend who seems fearless and we want to be just like that because it's more exciting than our own lives. Sadly, relationships become more about sex. We use sex to help find pleasure in our life. Some people choose to use drugs to also find a sense of freedom. Each one of these things can actually be harmful, and can't really give you a sense of freedom.

That's the thing though. We are constantly searching for something to set us free. We are looking for life to give us something to make us complete. I do it. Probably more than I like to admit most days. Life is tough. It's not an easy thing to handle. If it was, we'd probably have less depression, anxiety, and even suicides. In some ways, I feel we are more slaves to this earth.

Slaves to sin...

I mentioned earlier that people feel like slaves to this earth. For me, it's been a struggle to lose my job. I realize that I am at the mercy of others, and I hate it. No matter how much work or energy I put into it, I am still at the mercy of someone else. Due to this, I'm carry this weight of disappointment, embarrassment, and brokeness. I try to find ways to distract myself but I feel bound.

It's far to easy for us to carry our "world" on our own shoulders. We are bound to what I call sin. The moment those beautiful people known as Adam and Eve decided to disobey, we had this burden of sin. Sin blinds us from the truth. It's like when we are dating someone and are so infatuated that we seemingly can't see certain flaws that could be bad if you get married to the person. It's pretty much what sin is like. We are so infatuated with it, that we don't see how it's bad.

Let's be honest, sin can be fun. Who doesn't like getting revenge when we feel wronged? Who doesn't like indulging in the pleasures of this world? Who doesn't want to step in the grass where it is clearly marked "private property".

To be Slaves to righteousness...what the heck?!!!

Look at me mom!

As many people know, I love Batman. He's a character that is so real and raw to me. A man with many burdens. He alone carries so much weight. Yet, he never stops pushing forward. Also it's pretty awesome that he constantly is beating people who are 10 times stronger than him.

This is why I believe, it's easy to connect with Batman. We all want to right the wrongs in life. He used his life experience to attempt to make Gotham a safer place, so no one would have to suffer. He bore the burdens of the city

The truth is the fun we have in sin, isn't really fun at all. It kind of loses it's flavor quickly. We still have the part of us that is lacking. 

That part of us that lacks is the freedom of Christ. I know, I know, we've all heard it before. There is a lot of truth in this statement. I think even Christians downplay the importance of this idea.

Christ came to earth to save all mankind like the idea of  Batman for Gotham (full circle everyone). Yet unlike Batman, Jesus was successful in cleaning up the mess (sorry Batman, but the Joker always comes back). Jesus took on all the sins of the world and bore them for us. He took the mistakes, the pains, the anger, and pierced it to a cross with Him. He then rose from the dead, three days later to complete this work. He did this for you and me. All past and current sins, He had taken with Him on the cross. He took God's wrath and anger towards sin with Him on that cross. Why? To set us free because of His great love.

Here is how Paul puts it:

"For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin".

-Romans 6:5-7

The end is awesome. For the one who dies has been set free from sin. When we die to ourselves and come to Christ, we are set free. When we come to Christ, we put our old self on that cross with Christ to die, and are free because of Christ resurrection. 

It's all about Christ! It's all his work. We are free. We are no longer bound to ourselves. We are no longer defined by our jobs, our mistakes, our struggles, we are free. 

Later in Romans, Paul says we are slaves to righteousness. It's funny because I just said we are free. The thing is we are still free. By coming to Christ, we willingly make ourselves bound to Him. This means that we are free from sin. We are no longer bound but we choose to follow Christ. It's not hard either. It's a lot of fun actually. He allows us to dance, sing, and make a loud noises in celebration of who He is. I don't know about you but it's nice to know you can use your outside voice more often.

I found life in the sweetness of freedom

Freedom is found in not being bound to things of this earth. We find freedom in Jesus. In life, we come up against a lot that will bind us. Yet Jesus is beyond those things. Remember, He's not within time and the laws of physics. He can do anything. He can give you peace when you lose your job, he can give you the strength when you lose a love one, he can cry with you when your heart breaks. God loves man so deeply, that He gave his Son, so that we can have everlasting life. We are free from sin. Freedom from sin is only the beginning of the freedom in Christ! I will leave you with a song to help you ponder...

Part 2: Sometime in the future, but the Forgiveness leads to Freedom.