I love that we are a free country and I feel so blessed that I get to live here in America. This country that is, not perfect, but incredible. Where we are able to voice our opinions without fear of getting killed or thrown in prison. Where we can worship God unhindered whenever and wherever we want. Where we can choose what we do and who we become.
But freedom comes with a cost.
Freedom in America was bought through war, pain, hardship, and suffering. But even more so, the greatest freedom of all is that we, when we give our lives to Christ, are freed from our sin, our past, and our failures. This came with the greatest cost: Jesus’ death. So I wonder, what is the point of off all this suffering and sacrifice? What is the point of freedom?
We always talk about what we are free from.
But what are we free for?
Are we free just to be free? Did Christ die just so we are personally forgiven, so we individually have joy, peace, and blessing over our lives? Did God plan for you to be born in the most ‘free’ country in the world just so we personally could have the right to pursue ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’? Is it really just about us? Is that the end and goal of thousands of Americans dying for our countries freedom and our savior dying for our full freedom: us? Or are we free for a reason? Is there a point?
Friend, I believe there’s much more to it! That our freedom has a purpose bigger than ourselves. This verse sums it up!
“When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.” – Luke 12:48 (NLT)
Yes we are free. We’ve been gifted with freedom, entrusted with it. And much is required of us because of this gift of freedom. We get to choose what we build. We can choose to use our freedoms to build our own personal kingdom, and cultivate our own personal journey of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Or we can choose to sacrifice some of those freedoms to bring freedom to others. We can freely choose to give our personal freedom up and dedicate ourselves into full time service to the King and say, “not my will, but yours be done!”
We have been given freedom both spiritually and personally so that we can freely give up those freedoms and choose to be ’slaves’ for His purpose; to live for HIS cause and HIS glory.
In 1732 there was a plantation owner in the Caribbean islands who was adamantly against Christianity. This man had hundreds of slaves working for him on the plantation and would not allow any pastor, bishop, church, or anything related to God on the island. When two young missionaries heard about this they decided to do something about it. These two young men sold themselves into lifetime slavery so they could live and work among these other slaves and share Jesus with them. They gave up their ‘freedom’ for ‘slavery’ in order that the slaves could be free. And as the ship pushed out from the docks, and many of their friends and family wept and waved goodbye, knowing they would never see them again, one of the Moravian missionaries yelled, “MAY THE LAMB WHO WAS SLAIN RECEIVE THE REWARD OF HIS SUFFERING!”
Gods loving and pursuing orphans
That is why we are passionate about loving orphans. These kids who are really just slaves: slaves to messed up family system and a messed up government system. But even more so, they are slaves to sin themselves. They are bound and chained up by the enemy. They have broken hearts, broken lives, and broken spirits. And, I don’t know about you, but I’m willing to give my ‘freedom’ to become a ‘slave’ to Gods purpose for these children, so they can find freedom in Christ and in life. I want the lamb who was slain to receive the reward of His suffering. He loves these kids, he died for these kids, and he is passionately pursing these kids through you and me.
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