This month we celebrate 250 years of freedom as a nation.
Anytime there’s freedom, there’s three questions:
- Freedom from what?
- Freedom to what?
- Freedom to what degree?
I want to look at celebrating three freedoms (national, spiritual & marital) each answering the three questions above.
From What? Our national freedom is really about our independence. We’ve been free from the rule of England since 1776, actually, independent from the rule of any nation, enjoying our own sovereignty, for all this time.
Spiritually, Jesus gained our freedom the moment He died on His cross. Right up until that moment – and even after for many, His state-mates, the Jews, didn’t understand from what He had set them free. They looked around and saw their oppressors, the Romans, still in power over them, collecting taxes, enforcing Roman law and lording over them with intimidation and unfair treatment. Not until first century Jews, modern day people across the globe, and every human everywhere in all the centuries in between realize from where our bondage came (sin) can we know from what we’re free. We’re free from sin and all its consequences.
Maritally, we’re free from the threats present in non-married life. Marriage provides a bed that holds our freedom from sexual immorality. It provides a partner whose friendship and counsel free us from the folly of foolish decisions and mistakes awaiting those who veer off track when making decisions.
To What? This is where our nation’s freedom story gets pretty hypocritical. Every person being born with the freedom to pursue happiness was the stated ideal, but as the ink was drying on the Declaration of Independence, Africans continued to be traded, bought and sold, their freedom being stifled in every sense. We’ve made progress in correcting that evil but it will always be a blight on our history. So, while “citizens” were free to pursue their version of happiness, not every American was.
The freedom afforded us in Christ is, fortunately, the opposite of the American story. Jesus said that the poor in spirit (those seeing their spiritual bondage and being willing to cry out to God for freedom from it), those lowliest among all humans, are the very ones who are now free to enjoy all the benefits of God’s kingdom. What are those benefits? Eternal life, being reconciled to God, being the vessel of God’s Holy Spirit, having love, joy, peace…, having God’s special favor.
For the married couple who has their relationship centered on Christ, their freedom is great indeed. Despite the marriage clichés, like, the old ball and chain and tying the knot, marriage is like the Garden of Eden. In Eden there was one forbidden tree among many, many plants Adam and Eve were free to enjoy; yet they were drawn to the forbidden, and chose the forbidden over the freedom. Married couples are free to enjoy a unique relationship that unmarried people are not. The intimacy – intimate friendship, intimate partnership and romantic and sexual intimacy are benefits couples are wise to enjoy and not overlook by focusing on the forbidden things in their lives.
To What Degree? The freedoms of our nation exist within the boundaries of our land borders, citizens’ rights and fellow citizens’ rights. I believe the U.S. is the most blessed nation in history, as evidenced by the degree to which we citizens are free; we’re free to elect our governmental leaders, become governmental leaders, ourselves, believe the way we choose, speak the way we choose and worship the way we choose. What other nation ever has held those freedoms for its citizens?
Jesus said that if the Son sets us free we’ll be free indeed, meaning absolutely free, the best kind of free, free to the greatest possible degree. ‘Nuff said. There’s no better freedom than freedom in Christ.
When a couple gets married, they live out the choice they’ve made. Of all the people in the world, they’re spending the rest of their lives with the one they love most, want most and probably need most. That’s a crazy high level of freedom.
So,
Happy Independence Day!
Enjoy All Your Freedom in Christ Jesus!
and
May You Know and Experience All the joys of Marital Freedom!
