Freedom is often equated with independence--the ability to do what you want, when you want, how you want. Isn’t this exactly what the declaration, “It’s a free country!,” conveys? (If you have a teen or have been one yourself, you know the tone with which this kind of statement is made!)
Dustin Kensrue’s song flips that notion of freedom on it’s head.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY7TcNxct7I
His one comfort, he says, is that he belongs to someone else--namely Christ. Wait. Isn’t belonging to someone the opposite of freedom? If you equate freedom with independence, then the answer to that is yes. But what if freedom is something else entirely?
The kind of freedom that is about getting and doing whatever you want, the freedom that is often touted as our American birthright, leads to bondage of the most deceptive sort. (See 1 Peter 4:1-2; James 4:1-2; and Romans 6:15-18 in the Message)
True freedom is not something you search and fight and scrape for. It cannot be won by force. True freedom is a gift. It is something you have the power to bestow. It is something bestowed upon you. Think of forgiveness and acceptance. When you can be yourself (or let others be themselves) without fear of judgment--that’s freedom. (Romans 8:15) When a wrong you’ve committed (or that has been committed against you) is forever forgotten--that’s freedom.
True freedom is not without cost. It is the result of one sacrificing for another. It’s surrendering your own wants for the sake of someone else.
I’ve wrestled with this concept of freedom!
Dustin Kensrue sums up beautifully in one line all I’m trying to say : “Jesus, you have taken hold of me/And in your grip of grace I’m finally free.”
More:
Check out Dustin Kensrue's most recent album The Water & The Blood
Read another take on freedom at http://tylerhuckabee.com/
