While freedom includes no longer being restricted and held back from living life to the full, it’s much more than merely having our chains of bondage removed. True freedom includes the unrestricted ability to bring more life and goodness into the world as well.
Often we think of freedom in terms of what we’re freed from – sin, oppression, discrimination, and the like.
And, to be sure, it’s huge when these chains are broken.
But all too often our journey ends here and we never discover what our freedom is for.
It’s like we’ve been released from jail but we never actually leave the jailhouse. And we never learn how to enjoy life outside of our former jail cell.
Christ set us free not simply to be freed from the slavery of sin, but also to use our freedom to serve each other in love.
For example, it’s certainly worth celebrating to be freed from our past sexual sins. The cycle of guilt and shame kept us in a dark cloud and we have much more peace now that we’re no longer living a double life.
But not sinning is only part of the equation.
We now have the responsibility to use our sexuality to love and bless others, particularly our wife. And we’ve missed the mark when we’re not using our freedom to love her well regardless of how much freedom we have from our past sins.
And this plays out throughout the rest of life as well.
It’s not enough to be freed from oppression in whatever form it takes. In Christ, we also have the responsibility to use our freedom to magnify love throughout our life and relationships.
We make a mockery of our freedom when we don’t live a life worthy of it – leaving our proverbial jailhouse and actually living life to the full.
Don’t stop at merely celebrating what you are freed from. Use your freedom to bring more of God’s best into the world.
