Freedom part 3
Freedom isn't free. It comes at a cost. Spiritually speaking, it came at the cost of Jesus' life. He died so that we could die. Because a dead man is no longer responsible for the things that came before that death. And then He rose again so we could have NEWNESS of life. So we could stop struggling with all the things the old man struggled with. Freedom FROM sin, death, and the law. Freedom TO live and love. Look at Hebrews 2:14-15 (NLT), "Because God's children are human beings--made of flesh and blood--the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying." That puts a new perspective on what the slavery that held us in bondage is. Slaves to the fear of dying. And how did Jesus set us free? By dying! Because--look, the first death was when Adam ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the tree of death. From that point on humanity was the walking dead. We needed a second death so that death itself could die. So when Jesus was lifted up from the earth on the cross He drew all men into Himself. Out of Adam. Into Jesus. No longer did Adam's "fall" define us. Now it is Jesus rising that defines us! He gave His life FOR us on the cross, but He also gave His life TO us! So that we could have it. So that we could experience the gift of God that is the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God--life of love--as Jesus lives His own life in us, and through us, and as us. We were given this gift because God loves us and wanted us to have it. He didn't want us to be slaves. He wanted us to be Son(s). Which is why He sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. It is this Spirit that allows us to cry out, "Abba! Father!" To know God as heavenly Father. To know ourselves as His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. It is this Spirit that has made us free. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Freedom. And what we are free from, specifically, according to our passage in Hebrews, is the fear of dying. When you know that you have eternal life, what could possibly be scary about dying? When you know that Jesus--and you IN Him--was crucified, died, buried, quickened, raised, and seated... at that point you have nothing to fear. Death, the last enemy, was defeated on the cross. It's not something we have to worry about anymore. What's that line from that old movie? "Either get busy living or get busy dying." If your focus is on dying, or what happens after you die, then you're missing out on, well, life. The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. WE are our own thief when we steal our own lives from ourselves by worrying about everything and anything else. That's not what our heavenly Father wants for us. Which is why He gave us what He DOES want for us. One more time: The abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God! He gave us that gift. And when we focus on what we DO have--with an attitude of gratitude--that's when we truly experience what we do have. That's when we can enjoy the fruit of HIS labor. So instead of plodding on in the slavery of fear, look at 1 John 4:18 (NLT), "Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced perfect love." There is no fear in love. God loves us, so He took away the fear. Of sin. Of punishment. Of death. We are free FROM all of that, so that we can be free TO live and love!