Are You Really Free

Free is good; we like free. Free food, free time, free refills, free admission; put free in front of most anything and you can draw a crowd. Look around; the United States is filled with people who came here to be free.

 This weekend we celebrate that freedom. We revel in the “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” that being an American citizen provides. We are blessed to live in the United States and we recognize the cost of our freedom. There was risk involved in gaining our independence and some people paid with their lives. “Freedom isn’t free”, we often say, and that’s true.

 Now, as blessed as we are to be Americans, that is not the end of the line. One day, all of us will be dead Americans. Then what? What will be our condition after we breathe our last breath? Will we be free then? “Sure”, some might say, “we’ll be in heaven and everyone’s free in heaven”.

 Some people think that being an American means you’ll end up in heaven but God will not be looking at your passport when you stand before Him. The Bible tells us He will be looking inside us. Man looks at the outside, the Bible tells us, but God looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

 We also learn from the Bible that admission into heaven requires one thing: perfection.

That’s perfection in every area of your life for your entire life. Not one mistake, one misstep, not one “oops I was having a bad day and that’s why I flew off the handle with you” episode. No lying cheating, stealing, lusting, coveting, not once, ever in your entire life!

 God has high standards but God also has a heart full of love and that is why Jesus Christ, God’s only son, came to earth to teach humans how to live but most importantly to open the way to heaven for you and me. Because Jesus lived a perfect life, because He suffered a cruel painful death and because He rose from the dead, you and I can have freedom from sin plus the hope and promise of heaven.

 God wants us to be free, truly free, from the shame, sorrow and heartache that sin brings upon us. Jesus said that whoever commits sin, that is anything that breaks God’s law, is a slave of sin. But He also said that whomever the Son (Jesus) sets free is free indeed. (John 8:34-36)

 What does God see when He looks at your heart? Are you truly free? Do you know the joy of being forgiven and perfect in the eyes of God? Do you have the hope of heaven? If not, click here to learn more about what it means be truly free.

 As we celebrate Independence Day this weekend, take time to consider how blessed we are to live in the United States but most of all, consider the freedom that really matters, the eternal freedom that comes though faith in Jesus Christ.