We love our freedom. But that begs the question, ‘Freedom to do what?’ One dictionary defines freedom in a simple way, “the power or right to act, speak or think as one wants.” In other words, the freedom to do as we want.
The freedom to do as we want. Think of where this freedom leads! I don’t think the end result of this meaning of freedom is what anyone wants. Logically, then, there are no restraints on freedom. What – freedom to disobey, to murder, to kidnap, to steal and to lie?
Okay, someone says, we need some standard to enjoy our freedom. Then what standard shall we use for protecting freedom? Shall the ‘will of the people or community’ be our standard? Is that what we really want?
That can easily lead to a ‘tyranny of the majority.’ Is that freedom? And, besides, is the will of the people always right? What if it is morally wrong and yet the majority agree? But, then, that begs the question, “what standard do we use for morality?”
True freedom, then, is not doing as what we please or as we want.
The freedom to do as we ought. The ‘ought’ implies a standard, a universal, objective standard. This begs the question, ‘So, whose standard?’ The standard is from God who made us in His image, that is, He made us to be like Him in true righteousness and holiness.
God’s law, the Ten Commandments, with its many applications are His standard which gives true freedom. Human beings have always thrived in such societies.
A fish thrives only in water, not outside of the water. A fish knows true freedom. It knows its own boundaries for which it was created. Likewise, God made us to thrive in our relationships with one another in the boundaries that He has set for us in His created order.
But there is a problem. We have violated those boundaries and we see the sad results.
Yet, in His amazing love, God sent Jesus into our world to set things right. Jesus obeyed God’s law perfectly and took the full punishment for our violation through His death on the cross. By believing in Him, He not only forgives me but also restores me to serve Him and others in true freedom.
He endured the cost to bring back true freedom, the freedom to do as we ought!