How do you use your liberty?

To have liberty...

Often, we have no concept of liberty until we've understood the lack of it. We often mistake liberty as simply being the right to do as we want. Liberty is richer, deeper, more meaningful than simply doing whatever we want.

Also, it seems we think liberty can only be had in certain settings, under certain types of government, but that's not true either. We Americans especially picture liberty as something militaries won for us and keep for us. Again, liberty is richer, deeper and more meaningful.

The Apostle Paul said, "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." (Galatians 5:13-16 ESV)

Freedom, here described in part in the Word of God, teaches us that liberty is...

• the opportunity to NOT follow the flesh
• the opportunity to live a life of love
• the opportunity to serve one another
• the opportunity to have Life from the Spirit
• the opportunity to be led of the Spirit
• the opportunity to NOT seek out only how we might please self

Freedom, here described is....

• about being free from the ritual of religion
• about being free to know we are approved of God in Christ Jesus
• about being free to do something with our lives besides self
• NOT about using our freedom to push people around
• NOT about forgetting God's moral law

Actually, I could go on and on, but let me let us simply sit in this a while. As I sit here on July 4, I don't think of independence from Great Britain...I think of dependence on God's goodness. I can have all those things freedom describes above under any type of governmental system. I can also miss out on having all those types of freedom under any type of governmental system.

I think the saddest thing in the American church is we have the type of social freedom that allows us rampant opportunity for spiritual freedom, but we often forsake spiritual freedom, not because some government is stopping us, but because we're busy pursuing a wrong kind of freedom. Mostly, we want to do what we want to do and not be judged, held accountable, taxed, or made to conform to any standard save the one we personally set.

True liberty is being set free from Satan, death, hell and the grave. True liberty is being set free from the ugly/horrible cycle of being hung up on self. True liberty is being set free to love God without fear or restraint and to love one's neighbor without desire for pay back.

Let us think on God's definition of liberty today. Better yet, let's walk in it.