Freedom in Christ

Scripture Texts: John 8:12-38; Proverbs 6

Freedom is a big deal for those who live in the United States. It is a big deal for anyone, however in the United States we seem to talk about it an awful lot. More specifically we talk about our personal freedoms and personal rights. This is in fact one of the best things about living in the United States, that we have personal freedoms and rights.

Our government can grant us levels of freedom, or restrict them, and as important as they are, there is a freedom that is not controlled or protected by the government. In Christ Jesus we find a freedom from sin and death. This freedom is not so that we can live however we want, rather it is a freedom that frees us to live as God desires. We are free from the control of sin and death in our lives so that we can live free to love as Christ loves, to offer grace and we have been offered grace.

For many marriage is not an experience of freedom. Perhaps you are in the midst of a controlling and captive marriage where one of the partners in the marriage limits the freedoms we can enjoy. For you we say reach for and cling to the freedom that no human can remove, the freedom of Jesus Christ. God does not judge the same way humans do, and God provides freedom in Jesus that humans cannot.

We have never had a relationship of restriction and control. For our journey we have found it important to walk in the freedom offered to us through Christ. This means that any measure of control is not of human origin and based on what is said must be done. Rather it is treating a spouse with freedom to live the life Christ has called each person to live. In our marriage this takes on the form of walking with and supporting one another as we live out the call of God on our lives.

In the day to day journey of marriage living in this kind of freedom means we are willing to change our personal plan and design so that the other may pursue the call of God. No doubt this can feel like the limiting of a freedom. In all reality, adjusting our day to day living so that our spouse can fulfill their calling is the ultimate form of freedom. Not only is it our spouse that experiences freedom, we too find the freedom of following Christ more than our own desires.