A Thirst for Freedom

The liberty we have been given in Christ does not imply that we can do what we want to do; rather, we are given the power and freedom to overcome what holds us back from doing what He wants us to do. 1st Peter 2 says this:
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men--
16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.
17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

To be a servant of God means that we can know and walk with Him daily. When we do that, we can walk in a level of power, peace, and joy that we cannot do without Christ. The sins of the past that restrain us can be forgiven and the power of sin, that has been vanquished by Christ, releases its hold on our lives.  When we are tempted, we can experience the capability to resist. When we are tried, we can find the ability to endure.

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Freedom has become a topic that keeps popping up these days, especially in light of the lockdowns and 
restrictions that have been commonplace during the COVID crisis. The suppression of human activity may have produced, I believe, a yearning for change, a pursuit of freedom. Galatians chapter 4 states:
4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, 
"Abba, Father!"
7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Our true freedom comes through Jesus Christ, and we can know that every human heart has been hard-wired to seek to live in that freedom.  Unfortunately, our desire to soar can cause us to seek out unhealthy, inadequate ways to fulfill our inner desire.  Freedom can produce a greater sense of God's purpose or in the human sense, our search for freedom can result in unhealthy behaviors. 

Last Sunday, as Americans celebrated their freedoms as citizens of this great nation, The Christian Post reported on a Canadian pastor who experienced freedom from jail.  The article stated:

A Canadian pastor who was arrested for holding an outdoor worship service after authorities ordered his church building to be closed has been released from jail and expressed gratitude to God for sustaining his congregation.

Tim Stephens, who serves as pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Calgary, Alberta, spent the weekend with his family and church about two weeks after he was arrested, Rebel News reported.

The article goes on to quote the pastor:

Today is a very thankful day,” Rebel News quoted the pastor as saying. “I’m thankful that the restrictions are done and rescinded, including the court orders that go along with that.”

“[M]ost of all, I’m thankful for God,” he added. “I’m thankful that He’s built His church, that He’s sustained our church at Fairview Baptist Church. I’m thankful that He strengthened me, my wife, and our family, and that, through this, people have come to know the saving love of the Lord Jesus Christ. People have been strengthened in this country and around the world, and so, for these many reasons, I’m thankful.”

And, as the Christian Post points out: "Stephens is not the only Canadian pastor to face legal consequences for holding in-person worship services."

These are troubling days for our neighbor to the north in the area of religious freedom.  A CBN.com article quoted a commentator who went on Tucker Carlson's Fox show to liken church fires in the country to oppression occurring in Germany prior to World War II.  The article says:

The conservative commentator’s remarks come as several churches — mostly belonging to Catholic or Anglican denominations — have been burned to the ground amid the discovery of unmarked graves at erstwhile schools for indigenous children.

Prime Minister Trudeau is quoted as saying that the arsons are "unacceptable and wrong..." He said that he "understand[s] the anger," but adds, "...I can’t help but think that burning down churches is actually depriving people who are in need of grieving and healing and mourning from places where they can grieve and reflect and look for support..."

The commentator, Ezra Levant, who founded Rebel News; the article said, "Levant took a dig at the prime minister for being more focused on banning free speech on the internet than on ending the assault on churches in Canada, including one Protestant congregation of Vietnamese refugees."

Meanwhile, to the south of us, the weekend saw a dramatic turn of events in the communist nation of Cuba, where thousands took to the streets to protest the government's response to COVID and to declare their desire for freedom from the oppressive regime.  The Christian Post related:

The people of Cuba on Sunday demonstrated their anger against the communist government in what is said to be the largest protest in decades amid shortages of medicine and food during the pandemic.

Protests were held in cities around the Caribbean island country, including in San Antonio de los Baños, Palma Soriano and Havana, according to reports.

Florida's Governor, Ron DeSantis, and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio tweeted out support of the people's demonstrations.  

The Post noted:

According to the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, about 59% of Cubans are Christian. Cuban Christians face constant government surveillance and infiltration even though the church is growing in the island country.

In 2019, Cuba barred evangelical leaders from traveling to Washington, D.C., to talk about the human rights situation during the U.S. State Department's ministerial on international religious freedom.

In 2019 and 2020, the State Department placed Cuba on its “special watch list” of countries that engage in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom.

In our country, as well as countries to our north and south, people are calling for freedom, and there is a religious, even a Christian component, at play. 

God offers us the opportunity to be free - in the right way. We see human beings engage in damaging behavior in response to the thirst for freedom in their hearts.  And, we know that we can certainly use our freedom to make incorrect choices; He has given us a free will.  But we can choose how to express our freedom, and recognize that freedom in Christ means that we shed those things which hold us back, which divert us from experiencing His love, so that we may walk in true freedom. Galatians 5:1 says, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage."

We know that Jesus can meet the deep desire we have to be free.  We can resist the schemes of the enemy, who wants to deceive and destroy us and we can embrace the truth of God's Word, which teaches us how to truly experience freedom.  The Holy Spirit produces the power to walk in victory over sin, to lay aside, as Hebrews 12 says, the sin that easily entangles us.  When we understand freedom from a spiritual standpoint, we recognize that Christ offers us what can truly satisfy, He provides incredible resources so that we can know the freedom He offers.