Liberty part 5
You guys know I'm kind of into the law of first mention--where, in the Bible, the first time a word is used it kind of sets the stage for the rest of the times it is used. Well, I also like to end at the beginning. So tonight, to end this Rant series, let's look at the first time the word "liberty" is used in the King James Bible. Leviticus 25:10, "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family." Now, without getting too far into the context of everything that was going on at the time, I really just want to pull out the idea of what we're looking at here: Return. Restoration. Not something "new," as we saw in the last Rant series, but something new... to you. Something that has always been, but perhaps you thought YOU could never have. Something you thought you didn't deserve, or couldn't earn no matter how hard you tried. But let's look at Strong's first, since we're here. "Liberty" is number 1865 in Strong's Hebrew Concordance and it means, "to move rapidly; freedom; hence spotaneity of outflow, and so clear:- liberty, pure." And that, of course, takes me straight to Hebrews 4:11, "Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." "Labour" meaning "to use speed." Its the same idea. What we want--what our heart desires... love--is available to us. So hurry up and receive it. That's the good fight of faith; laying hold of the gift we've already been given. Receiving it and releasing it. Receiving it BY releasing it. Releasing it by receiving it. Filling ourselves to overflowing with what God has already filled us with. PROCLAIMING the liberty that has already been established. Because where the Spirit of the Lord is, there IS liberty. Where love is, there is freedom. Where love is, there is restoration. Reconciliation. A return to how things should be. How things really are, if we could only see it. See it, because the light of the world (the light of love) is shining. See it through the doves' eyes of the Spirit. See it as God sees it. And when God looks at us, He sees Jesus. When God looks at Jesus, He sees us. As He is, so are we in this world. There is no difference. No separation. Jesus said that He and His Father are One. He is the light of the world. We are the light of the world. Its the same light. The light of love! This liberty is here. It is inside us. It IS us. So we need to start letting what's inside come out. We need to proclaim that liberty. So that we can enjoy it, and so that those we come into contact can enjoy it. Life is for living. And the only life worth living is a life of service. So let's return to our first love--God loving us! Let's let Him love the hell out of us so that we can then love the hell out of each other. That's truly living. That's what freedom, or liberty, is all about. Free FROM sin. Yes. Jesus took away the sin of the world. But also free TO love. To be loved by God and to love Him back by loving each other with that same love!