Today’s 333 Devotional: “Christian Freedom”

Sunday is July 4th, a day where we celebrate our independence as a nation from the tyranny of an oppressive regime. Because of this America is known as the land of the free and the home of the brave. It’s also a land ruled by a constitution and laws designed to protect individual rights.

Yet, when formed, it was based upon God and the truth found in His word.

Today we’ve strayed far from these, and Americans are now more concerned with their rights than doing what is right. Where doing right is superseded by our personal rights to do wrong, and a shift has occurred from morality to rights.

And we’re doing the same thing the children of Israel did, doing what is right in our own eyes rather than what was right in God’s eye. And today we’re suffering the consequences.

But this doesn’t have to be our final outcome. We can repent, we can turn back to God and ask for His forgiveness knowing that He will hear our prayer and heal what we’ve so badly wounded.

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

When we follow the Lord, we’ll become free. But freedom doesn’t mean the absence of constraints and moral absolutes. This may shock many because whenever constraints are mentioned people automatically assume a loss of freedom.

Consider a skydiver. If he decides not to use a parachute to experience the freedom of falling, the end will be messy. The law of gravity rules the skydiver, whether he likes it or not. However, if he chooses to use the constraint of a parachute, then he’ll enjoy the exhilaration of the fall without the messy consequences.

God’s moral laws act the same way: they restrain, but they’re absolutely necessary to enjoy freedom.