The Scandalous Gift of True Freedom
What does real freedom look like? This question haunts our modern world, where we constantly hear promises of liberation while witnessing countless forms of bondage.
Consider North Korea, where propaganda shows smiling citizens in well-stocked stores while experts report starvation and oppression behind the facade. Or remember November 2001, when Kabul was liberated from Taliban rule. Within hours, music filled the streets, men shaved their beards, and a little boy ran through the city with a kite trailing behind him. Those spontaneous celebrations revealed a profound truth: **freedom is not any kind of freedom at all if there is no real choice.**
This principle strikes at the heart of something far more significant than political liberty. It addresses the eternal quest of God Himself.
God's Shocking Risk
Why would God create beings capable of rejecting Him? Why would He allow such freedom of choice that humans can and frequently do choose what grieves Him and destroys the perfection He has made?
The answer reveals the magnificence of God's character. His glory is too great to be proclaimed only by a captive audience. Satan would settle for forced praise, extracting any note of worship he can get. But not God.
God is actively seeking people who serve Him freely, who worship Him voluntarily, who love Him as a reflex of the heart—not because they cannot choose anything else, but because they decide for Him. As Jesus declared in John 4:23, the Father is seeking worshipers who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.
No other voice can truly tell how great and worthy God is but a free voice.
The Garden's Choice
This divine quest is as old as Eden itself. God placed Adam and Eve in paradise and entered into fellowship with them. But as perfect and idyllic as it was, their devotion could never be called free until a tree was placed in the garden—a tree that gave them the power of choice.
God wasn't trying to tempt them out of their devotion. The tree was there to confirm it, to prove it. Adam and Eve could demonstrate that their worship was true because their freedom to obey was real.
When they sinned, humankind lost all choice. Ironically, in reaching for freedom, Eve picked captivity. The will of man became bound to sin and has remained that way generation after generation.
Jesus came to set us free again—free from the penalty of sin once and for all, and free from the ongoing power of sin over our lives. "He whom the Son sets free is free indeed."
What Now?
Imagine a man locked up and serving a life sentence. He has dreamed night after agonizing night of his freedom. Finally, he is paroled. He stands outside the prison gates for the first time in twenty-five years, wearing an old suit decades out of style. The guards close the doors behind him. There he stands, a free man. What does he do now?
This is the question every Christian must answer. What are we to do with our blood-bought, God-given freedom, provided at so great a cost?
The Apostle Paul urges us in Romans 12:1 to "offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."
This is what we are to do with our freedom: become the prize of God's quest.
A Picture of Devotion
Hidden in Exodus 21:1-6 is a beautiful picture of this voluntary devotion. The passage outlines regulations for Hebrew servants—not the cruel slavery of kidnapping and forced labor (which God condemned as "man-stealing" punishable by death), but a provision for someone who had fallen on hard times to sell themselves into service to pay off debts.
The law guaranteed a new start: a servant could serve for six years, but in the seventh year, he had to be released. It was called the Sabbath law of freedom.
But here's where it gets beautiful. What if the six years were up, and the servant was given his freedom, but he didn't want to leave? What if life was good in his master's house? What if his master had treated him well, given him responsibility, even allowed him to marry? The law allowed him to choose to remain.
If he made that choice, there was a ceremony. The master would bring him before the judges, and together they would announce the decision. The master would stand the servant against the doorpost of his house and drive an awl through the lobe of his ear and into the doorpost.
Imagine God in heaven looking down at that moment, as the servant walked back into the house arm in arm with his master, and saying, "That is my quest. Right there. That's what I'm after."
Six Declarations of Freedom
When a Hebrew servant chose to have his ear pierced to the master's house, he was declaring six powerful things:
"I have made my choice." This was his decision alone. No one could force it or make it for him. This is the essence of God's quest—that we will choose Him. Your parents can't choose for you. Your spouse can't choose for you. Nobody but you.
"I have declared my love." The servant would say, "I love my master." This is the motivation God seeks—not fire insurance Christianity, but hearts that truly love Him. God wants devotion flowing from the heart: "I love my Lord, I love my Master."
"I have acknowledged my debt." The servant recognized that all his blessings—his wife, his children, his provision—came from the master's hand. What has God done for you? Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights.
"I have announced my commitment." This was a public court decision involving legal witnesses. It parallels water baptism in the Christian life—our public announcement that we have decided to follow Jesus with no turning back.
"I have yielded my obedience." The ear is a symbol of obedience because it receives instruction. This wasn't commitment just until the servant tired of the arrangement or until the master did something he didn't like. It was a covenant, a yielding of full and total obedience.
"I have attached my future." When the master drove the awl through the servant's ear into the doorpost, he was pinned literally to the house, signaling the permanent bond. For better or for worse, his future was woven together with his master's future.
The Only Pursuit
Jesus said it plainly: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." There is only one pursuit worthy of the Christian—the household of the Master, the kingdom of God. Satan wants to chain you in slavery. He is a liar and a thief who steals, kills, and destroys. Look around at the world filled with addiction after addiction. That is the fruit of following Satan.
The Lord Jesus offers you freedom—the only true and everlasting freedom. Freedom to choose to walk with Him and serve Him forever. One day, Jesus watched many people walk away. They were choosing the world over His words, choosing what the world could offer over the miracles and healing He provided. They exercised their God-given freedom and rejected Him.
Jesus turned to His twelve closest companions and asked, "Do you also want to go away?" Peter answered for the group: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Where else would we go? Only Jesus saves, heals, raises, helps, forgives, and strengthens.
The decision is a no-brainer. Will you choose Him today?
What does real freedom look like? This question haunts our modern world, where we constantly hear promises of liberation while witnessing countless forms of bondage.
Consider North Korea, where propaganda shows smiling citizens in well-stocked stores while experts report starvation and oppression behind the facade. Or remember November 2001, when Kabul was liberated from Taliban rule. Within hours, music filled the streets, men shaved their beards, and a little boy ran through the city with a kite trailing behind him. Those spontaneous celebrations revealed a profound truth: **freedom is not any kind of freedom at all if there is no real choice.**
This principle strikes at the heart of something far more significant than political liberty. It addresses the eternal quest of God Himself.
God's Shocking Risk
Why would God create beings capable of rejecting Him? Why would He allow such freedom of choice that humans can and frequently do choose what grieves Him and destroys the perfection He has made?
The answer reveals the magnificence of God's character. His glory is too great to be proclaimed only by a captive audience. Satan would settle for forced praise, extracting any note of worship he can get. But not God.
God is actively seeking people who serve Him freely, who worship Him voluntarily, who love Him as a reflex of the heart—not because they cannot choose anything else, but because they decide for Him. As Jesus declared in John 4:23, the Father is seeking worshipers who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.
No other voice can truly tell how great and worthy God is but a free voice.
The Garden's Choice
This divine quest is as old as Eden itself. God placed Adam and Eve in paradise and entered into fellowship with them. But as perfect and idyllic as it was, their devotion could never be called free until a tree was placed in the garden—a tree that gave them the power of choice.
God wasn't trying to tempt them out of their devotion. The tree was there to confirm it, to prove it. Adam and Eve could demonstrate that their worship was true because their freedom to obey was real.
When they sinned, humankind lost all choice. Ironically, in reaching for freedom, Eve picked captivity. The will of man became bound to sin and has remained that way generation after generation.
Jesus came to set us free again—free from the penalty of sin once and for all, and free from the ongoing power of sin over our lives. "He whom the Son sets free is free indeed."
What Now?
Imagine a man locked up and serving a life sentence. He has dreamed night after agonizing night of his freedom. Finally, he is paroled. He stands outside the prison gates for the first time in twenty-five years, wearing an old suit decades out of style. The guards close the doors behind him. There he stands, a free man. What does he do now?
This is the question every Christian must answer. What are we to do with our blood-bought, God-given freedom, provided at so great a cost?
The Apostle Paul urges us in Romans 12:1 to "offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."
This is what we are to do with our freedom: become the prize of God's quest.
A Picture of Devotion
Hidden in Exodus 21:1-6 is a beautiful picture of this voluntary devotion. The passage outlines regulations for Hebrew servants—not the cruel slavery of kidnapping and forced labor (which God condemned as "man-stealing" punishable by death), but a provision for someone who had fallen on hard times to sell themselves into service to pay off debts.
The law guaranteed a new start: a servant could serve for six years, but in the seventh year, he had to be released. It was called the Sabbath law of freedom.
But here's where it gets beautiful. What if the six years were up, and the servant was given his freedom, but he didn't want to leave? What if life was good in his master's house? What if his master had treated him well, given him responsibility, even allowed him to marry? The law allowed him to choose to remain.
If he made that choice, there was a ceremony. The master would bring him before the judges, and together they would announce the decision. The master would stand the servant against the doorpost of his house and drive an awl through the lobe of his ear and into the doorpost.
Imagine God in heaven looking down at that moment, as the servant walked back into the house arm in arm with his master, and saying, "That is my quest. Right there. That's what I'm after."
Six Declarations of Freedom
When a Hebrew servant chose to have his ear pierced to the master's house, he was declaring six powerful things:
"I have made my choice." This was his decision alone. No one could force it or make it for him. This is the essence of God's quest—that we will choose Him. Your parents can't choose for you. Your spouse can't choose for you. Nobody but you.
"I have declared my love." The servant would say, "I love my master." This is the motivation God seeks—not fire insurance Christianity, but hearts that truly love Him. God wants devotion flowing from the heart: "I love my Lord, I love my Master."
"I have acknowledged my debt." The servant recognized that all his blessings—his wife, his children, his provision—came from the master's hand. What has God done for you? Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights.
"I have announced my commitment." This was a public court decision involving legal witnesses. It parallels water baptism in the Christian life—our public announcement that we have decided to follow Jesus with no turning back.
"I have yielded my obedience." The ear is a symbol of obedience because it receives instruction. This wasn't commitment just until the servant tired of the arrangement or until the master did something he didn't like. It was a covenant, a yielding of full and total obedience.
"I have attached my future." When the master drove the awl through the servant's ear into the doorpost, he was pinned literally to the house, signaling the permanent bond. For better or for worse, his future was woven together with his master's future.
The Only Pursuit
Jesus said it plainly: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." There is only one pursuit worthy of the Christian—the household of the Master, the kingdom of God. Satan wants to chain you in slavery. He is a liar and a thief who steals, kills, and destroys. Look around at the world filled with addiction after addiction. That is the fruit of following Satan.
The Lord Jesus offers you freedom—the only true and everlasting freedom. Freedom to choose to walk with Him and serve Him forever. One day, Jesus watched many people walk away. They were choosing the world over His words, choosing what the world could offer over the miracles and healing He provided. They exercised their God-given freedom and rejected Him.
Jesus turned to His twelve closest companions and asked, "Do you also want to go away?" Peter answered for the group: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Where else would we go? Only Jesus saves, heals, raises, helps, forgives, and strengthens.
The decision is a no-brainer. Will you choose Him today?
Pastor Phil Morgan
Posted in Standalone
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