I have recently noticed a slight obsession going on in my home. Little people are fascinated by flying. Aidan still wants to be an angel or a bird. Jordan has tried a number of times to fly off the bed or off the couch. He does land safely on the floor in Mommy's or Daddy's arms, of course. Even Justin, who should know better, runs through the house with arms outstretched like a bird. They all enjoy that little bit of freedom as a free fall.
Speaking of freedom, in my writing classes, I assigned a paragraph that asks when and where is freedom felt. This turned out to be the highlight of the semester. Freedom from exams, freedom from difficulty situations, freedom to enjoy quiet moments, freedom on bikes, freedom while swimming. Each one touched on enjoyment or euphoria and a number of them even talked talked about freedom within limits.
All of those wings and papers on freedom got me thinking about freedom in Christ. Christ dying on the cross frees us from wrong spiritual concepts. Galatians says "Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time had cone, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, 'Abba, Father?' Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."
We are called away from superstition, error, bondage, guilt, deception, depravity, ignorance, and a destructive life. We are called to liberty in Christ, receiving forgiveness of sins through shed blood. We now now freedom from guilt, an awareness of the truth of God. We have the free gift of eternal life.
We have freedom through God's truth. Jesus said to the Jews who believed him, "If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Do you realize the freedom that comes from understanding God's word.
We also freedom through the Holy Spirit. God's spirit guides us to truth (John 16:13). It helps us to understand the Scriptures (I Corinthians 3:17). Saint Paul wrote in II Corinthians, "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." We know that the Holy Spirit is a gift from God given when we repent, accept Christ, are baptized, and are willing to obey and lay hands on one another.
There is also freedom from the Law. James calls God's law a "law of liberty" or freedom when he says "he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he he does (James 1:25).
Loving obedience to God's law is not an effort to attain salvation by works, but an honest, heartfelt response to want and serve and please the Great God of the universe who His spiritual laws for our own well-being.
True freedom comes through the resurrection at Christ's return. As Paul explains in Romans 8:21, "the creation itself also will be deliver from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."
We are free in God's family. Angels, birds, my children all wanting freedom. Isn't it beautiful?
Speaking of freedom, in my writing classes, I assigned a paragraph that asks when and where is freedom felt. This turned out to be the highlight of the semester. Freedom from exams, freedom from difficulty situations, freedom to enjoy quiet moments, freedom on bikes, freedom while swimming. Each one touched on enjoyment or euphoria and a number of them even talked talked about freedom within limits.
All of those wings and papers on freedom got me thinking about freedom in Christ. Christ dying on the cross frees us from wrong spiritual concepts. Galatians says "Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time had cone, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, 'Abba, Father?' Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."
We are called away from superstition, error, bondage, guilt, deception, depravity, ignorance, and a destructive life. We are called to liberty in Christ, receiving forgiveness of sins through shed blood. We now now freedom from guilt, an awareness of the truth of God. We have the free gift of eternal life.
We have freedom through God's truth. Jesus said to the Jews who believed him, "If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Do you realize the freedom that comes from understanding God's word.
We also freedom through the Holy Spirit. God's spirit guides us to truth (John 16:13). It helps us to understand the Scriptures (I Corinthians 3:17). Saint Paul wrote in II Corinthians, "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." We know that the Holy Spirit is a gift from God given when we repent, accept Christ, are baptized, and are willing to obey and lay hands on one another.
There is also freedom from the Law. James calls God's law a "law of liberty" or freedom when he says "he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he he does (James 1:25).
Loving obedience to God's law is not an effort to attain salvation by works, but an honest, heartfelt response to want and serve and please the Great God of the universe who His spiritual laws for our own well-being.
True freedom comes through the resurrection at Christ's return. As Paul explains in Romans 8:21, "the creation itself also will be deliver from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."
We are free in God's family. Angels, birds, my children all wanting freedom. Isn't it beautiful?
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