Face to Face with My Freedom

For most of my teenage years and much of my twenties, I had chained myself back to the chains of sin that Christ had set me free from.  Being saved as a young girl I didn’t realize the importance of a personal relationship. My freedom from sin had nothing on my desire to be my own person.

What I had done was taken my freedom and used it as an opportunity for the flesh (Galatians 5:13). I knew that I was saved and firmly believe in that being something that is secure. But living for Christ was an entirely different story.

I began to get into a spiral of sin and living for my fleshy desires. I stopped recognizing the girl I thought I was becoming. That is a trail that seems to start out pretty harmless and can quickly spin into returning to my slave days of being trapped in my sin.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 (NIV)

The Yoke of Bondage

The of bondage was something I wore. I had begun to think that there was no turning back, no space for redemption and no need for reconciliation.

I was sorely mistaken. You may have heard this a thousand times, what I wouldn’t say to my younger self.

Looking back now, I would have let her know that she was free indeed, not to continue living for the flesh but free to walk in the graces of Christ. And the entangling back into the yoke of sin doesn’t have to become a permanent fixture. In Christ, there is no condemnation. You are free indeed.

For me personally, I thought I had messed up too badly. I knew I was too far away from Christ that there was no chance I could or He would accept someone of my nature.

I was afraid to come home. Afraid I would be greeted with the harshness I deserved and not the mercy Jesus is so often willing to give.

Years of Freedom Lost

The problem was this bottom line, I didn’t know Him. I didn’t know of His great love for His children even the ones so desperately far away. Especially the ones so desperately far away.

I had become an infant only living on the milk that I was provided as a child. Never willing to taste and see the Lord’s true goodness. I never doubted it but at the same time never made Him my own.

I didn’t know of His true redemption and His plan to set me free. At that time, I only understood His plan to take me one day to Heaven.

So I went on living the way I wanted to live leaving Christ and any relationship with Him on the back burner.

Years of freedom lost in the pursuit of my own self. Pride and self-sufficiency had become my mantra. I remember my deepest pit. Curled up on the bathroom floor in the midst of a mildly abusive relationship on both our parts and nowhere to turn.

I would love to say that was my turning point but sadly it was not. So I began hiding my self in this person I had become. I look back now and feel so sad for her. The answer, her Savior, Her Father waiting for her return.

The Decision at the Foot of the Cross

As we approach the cross, we are forced to make a decision. To follow Jesus or walk away. There is no opportunity for gawking because He is no longer there, He has Risen!

I had made that decision to follow Christ, but my decision stopped there. I never knew Him and never allowed myself to be known by Him. Although His presence I could always feel, I pushed it away.

My freedom was not free. It was paid for by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Share on X It meant my Savior was placed on the cross and shamed for all the wretched things I had done, while His Father turned His face from Him. He took my name and nailed it to the cross and left it there, yet I kept trying to rip it down and wear it as my scarlet A.

The Lost Sheep

Jesus often times talked in Parables — stories with a lesson. This particular day, In Luke 15, He was talking with tax collectors and sinners. The Pharisees were highly offended and began muttering about Jesus dining with sinners.

Jesus tells this amazing story.

Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. uke 15:4-7 (NIV)

Isn’t that story just precious? I am sure that these sinners and tax collectors were outcasts. Yet, Jesus points out to the very people that probably made sure they stayed that way that He will go out and get just one.

Just One

Do you ever wonder if Jesus would have died for just you? If you were the only one in all of existance and were such a desperate mess, would he have died for just you?

I believe these verses point to Jesus, who found it necessary to go out of His way for only one sometimes.

I can confidently say yes, I know He pursued me. He saw a lost sheep, and while He can care for the others, He still came after me, I know that He did. I know that He stayed there until I returned.

And today, I can celebrate because as He picked me up, put the full weight of my sinful rebellion on His shoulders, He carried me home, rejoicing all the way that He was bringing back home His lost sheep.

Christ Celebrates His Lost Sheep

You can be assured that Christ celebrates you. He and His angels rejoice at the return of His rebellious child.

I remember the day my husband, who was my fiance at the time, accepted Christ into His life. Our pastor said, today, the angels are rejoicing. One of Jesus’ lost children had decided to come home. As He hoists us up onto His shoulders He takes us home and celebrates.

Friend, you are greatly loved by a good God. If you are at a point where you feel like there is no safe passage, no way to return or get redemption, know that you are God’s treasure. He wants you to come to Him. Repent and turn from your ways. Let Him free you from the bonds of sin that so desperately entangle you.

On the cross, Christ died for our sins. He was buried and on the third day rose again and today He is Alive. One day He is going to return to this earth to gather up His children. The decision to follow Him is today. We do not know the day the shepherd will return for His sheep and so we have to be ready.

The Decision at the Cross

For some this may mean for the first time accepting Christ as your personal Savior and the Ruler of your Life, Repenting and turning from your sinful ways. And For others, it may mean that you repent and turn back to Him. Turning from your sin that you have buried yourself under. For others, it may be a deeper more sincere relationship where we keep watch and all the more as the day of His return approaches.

Real freedom has no other name than Jesus. Share on X This world that offers us the freedom to be ourselves, is not freedom. It is bondage. We were born into this bondage and need to be set free. Jesus came and didn’t mince words, He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. That means when we seek His way, we will find the truth and His truth will set us free to live in His freedom.

 

Personal Reflections:

1. Do you believe that God is a good God? What does that mean to you?
2. Do you believe that He would have died for just you?
3. Do you need to make a decision of change in your life so that you can capture Christ’s freedom?

 

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