Freedom; Our Lord!

July 17, 2025

Freedom; Our Lord!

There is freedom in Jesus! 

The freedom that comes in our relationship with Jesus is the freedom to live an abundant life now and eternal life in heaven.  In II Corinthians 3:17 the Apostle Paul writes; “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

When I was in my 30’s someone asked, “Is this all there is?”  He was in his mid-30’s and already owned four businesses which he built with his wife.  His wife and children were a great source of joy and a rich blessing.  He lived on a lake, enjoyed hunting large animals, and had some great friends. 

However, something was missing.  He did not want more businesses or more money.  He did not want more wives or more children.  He did not want more houses or more hunting trips.  He was looking for something the world could not offer him. 

There is freedom in Jesus! 

Even with all the abundance of things around him, he was missing the abundant life.  In John 10:10 Jesus says; “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”  The abundant life is only available in our relationship with Jesus.  It is Jesus who can give you and me a truly abundant life.

The abundant life is possible when we experience a growing relationship with Jesus.  Through the forgiveness that Jesus offers through His death on a cross, we are set free from guilt and shame and regret.  Through the forgiveness that only Jesus can offer, we are set free from the pain of the past and the oppression of the present and our fear of what might happen in the future. 

Through the forgiveness that comes through the pain and suffering and death of our Savior Jesus, we are no longer slaves to the power of sin or the wrecking ball of our own brokenness.   

There is freedom in Jesus! 

We are free to live an abundant life marked by what the Apostle Paul describes as the fruit of the Holy Spirit.  In Galatians 5:22-23 Paul writes; “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  These are the things the Holy Spirit produces in the life of a Christ-follower.  These are the things that define the abundant life which Jesus came to give us.  These are the things that define a life that is truly free!

There is freedom in Jesus!

Often times we are sucked into a great deception.  We are taught a lie that says success as defined by the world is the same as the abundant life defined by Jesus. 

When we buy into the deception, we sacrifice so much that is so important in order to achieve worldly success.  We will sacrifice our physical, mental, and emotional health.  We will sacrifice our integrity, our purity, and our faith.  We will sacrifice our marriage, our children, and our friends. 

We will sacrifice so much that is so important to achieve worldly success when Jesus has already sacrificed His life to give us the most important thing; i.e., abundant life with Jesus!

There is freedom in Jesus! 

+When we are young, we substitute worldly success for the abundant life.

+When we are middle-aged, we substitute image and influence for the abundant life.

+When we are old, we substitute worldly security for the abundant life.

The result is often addiction or cynicism or burn out.  The consequence is often busted up marriages, estranged children, and skeptical co-workers.  The outcome is often lost hope, little joy, and no peace. 

We can be free from these things when we live in a healthy and holy relationship with Jesus and chase after the abundant life Jesus promises.

I encourage you to take the time to do a careful and prayerful evaluation of how life is going for you right now. 

+Do you feel bound up or free? 

+Are you successful but not living an abundant life? 

+Is your heart burdened with failed attempts to achieve the world’s definition of success or is your heart filled with delight in your relationship with Jesus? 

+Do you feel shackled by your own success (or failure) or truly free through God’s grace in you and Jesus’ love for you?

My prayer for you is that you will know true freedom through your relationship with Jesus so your heart is filled with delight in Jesus. 

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug