Freedom
Brad Evangelista gave the message at Otis' farm last Thursday night. In Brad's usual fashion, it was passionate and energetic. What struck me was the point of freedom. Galatians 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set you free, therefore do not be entangled again by the yoke of slavery."

It is for freedom that Christ set you free. That is an interesting comment...freedom so I could be free. Free so i can be free. Why would Christ say something like this?

How many of us are still trapped by religion? How many of us are Christians yet are still bound up by a whole bunch of rules. How many of us live our lives like prisoners? How many of us are entangled by the yoke of slavery?

Christ came to set us free but He also came to give us freedom. The cross is "free". The battle was won at the cross. If you accept Christ as your savior, you are forgiven and you are free. But He came to give us freedom -- "it is for freedom that Christ has set you free.." It is for freedom (the goal) that Christ has set you free (the act). The goal is freedom - that is the resurrection. The power in what Christ did wasn't so much in dying on the cross. The power came in the resurrection.

Too often, the church focuses on the "free" part and ignores the freedom. He came to give us freedom. He came to give us freedom from the chains and yoke of slavery that tie us down. Unfortunately, we live within fences of "religion" that tell us what we can/can't do and a bunch of rules. We don't live passionately or dangerously because we fear what others will think of us. We are free - we'll go to heaven - but we don't enjoy the freedom Christ came to give us.

Brad pictured this with a great story. When he was a young kid, he had a paper route. Everyday, he'd mount his Schwin and head off to deliver papers. A block away from his house lived a huge dog that was half wolf, half bear. The dog was huge and the dog hated Brad. Everyday, the dog would see him coming and everyday, he'd sit up on his porch and start barking as Brad approached. As Brad got closer, the dog would explode off the porch and tear towards Brad with blood dripping from his mouth. Right as Brad got to the house the dog would be in full sprint ready to take Brad apart running as fast as his four paws would deliver him toward his lunch. As Brad got to the dog, he'd pull out a paper. Right as the dog was about to eat Brad, he'd screech to halt at the fence that separated him from his meal. As Brad rolled by, he'd take his paper and drag it against the fence all the way down to the corner. This aggravated his adversary and gave Brad a daily victory against the beast.

One day Brad came rolling by and the daily ritual played itself out again -- this time with a shocking turn. As Brad approached, the beast leapt from the porch and charged him. Brad pulled his paper out to aggravate the dog and grinned in anticipation. Right as he approached the fence, his discovered in terror that the fence that separated him from the dog was gone! There was nothing to stop the dog from eating him for lunch. The dog approached faster than ever and Brad knew he was dead meat. He stood up on the seat of the bike and was prepared to kick the dog and swat him with the paper. But right as the dog was about to leave the yard and knock Brad off the bike...he slammed to a stop right where the fence used to be. The dog didn't know the fence was gone and out of habit, he stopped short.

The dog had freedom but he didn't know it. He remained trapped in the prison of his own making. In his mind, he was forever tied to that yard. Someone came along and removed the barrier that entrapped him but he didn't know freedom was his for the taking (or that Brad was his lunch for the taking!).

It is a great picture for us. Christ has taken down the fences that trap us in the ordinary life. He came that we might have life and have it abundantly. Seize the day!

Soar!