Pastor John D Jakes

As we approach summer, I notice that there are two patriotic holidays that we celebrate. Memorial Day begins our summer and the 4th of July is smack dab in the middle. I often think about all the history that those days celebrate. Memorial Day celebrates the brave men and women in uniform that have sacrificed so much for freedom. July 4th celebrates the freedom our founders gave so much to acquire. I think of those whose lives were made harsher as tyranny increased.  I think about how the founding fathers grew more and more impatient with the conditions that they found themselves in.  I think about the things they wrote and said and did during that time.  It makes me wonder, what did it really take to get them to take the steps they did?  What made them cross the line of self-interest and complacency and decide that they could not live that way anymore?

When they did, everything changed. Their allegiance changed. Their reputations changed. Their futures changed.  Some gave all.  All risked everything. For them, it was worth it!

Think about how that parallels our journey with Jesus. At some point, the tyranny of sin gets to us.  We become aware that the ‘freedom’ that sin promises is not freedom at all.  It is slavery.  We are not self-determined individuals.  We are trapped.  As we acknowledge our trapped state, it becomes unbearable for us.  It disgusts us.  We begin to consider God’s better way.  We begin to consider the way of life in Jesus.  True freedom becomes our aim.  Christ’s freedom becomes worth our everything.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. – John 8:36 

Are you there yet?  Are you at that place that says that you will forsake everything in order to know the freedom of Jesus?  If not, what will it take to push you over the edge?  What will it take to get you sick of the trap of sin?  Will complacency always win?

Memorial Day makes me think about the importance of vigilance. Our service men and women continue to sacrifice to protect that freedom. They do it for us. They do it for others. They do it because tyranny can creep back in if we let it. If you have already come to the place that you have been freed by Jesus, do you find complacency creeping back in? It is the complacency that says, “One or two sins won’t matter. It’s not that important.” The only way to stay free is continuous vigilance! Are there little lies that sin is telling you that are lulling you back into slavery? Resist.  Throw off those chains!  Let us remember our freedom and live in Jesus. May we never practice a freedom that is actually a white-washed tyranny to sin. Consider…

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. – Galatians 5:1 

Something to think about,

Pastor John