Free Indeed

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 

(Galatians 5:1, NKJV)

A story is told of a baby elephant who was raised tethered to a short pole, about a foot high.  The calf grew in this environment being fed and played with but still held by the rope.  With time, it grew into a fully grown elephant yet living in the same space.  He had gotten used to the rope round his chunky leg and he had mastered his setting properly, having adjusted to the limitations it presented.  In the elephant’s mind, this is what his life was meant to be and he was happy.  One day, the owner released him from the rope that had him tied, but the elephant did not move, he did not think he could move, he was contented with his environment and had been conditioned to never see himself beyond his small space.  This huge elephant which could even uproot the small pole holding his rope, had no idea of freedom even when he could easily release himself.  Though set free, he did not understood what freedom meant. 

Beloved, this interesting story could be mirroring some aspects of our lives.  Our reference verse calls us to the freedom that we have in Christ, a freedom that is complete and we are urged to make every effort to remain free.  We are not to allow ourselves to be entangled by other things in life, our freedom is set to make us free in all ways, in our actions, thoughts, speech etc.  The NIV bible version of the verse reads “it is for freedom that Christ set us free”, a strong reminder that the purpose of the freedom that we find in Christ is for us to be and remain free.  Meditating on this verse, I acknowledged that there are aspects of my life where I still live as one who is not free, living like the strong elephant who had accepted his limitations and at times even considered it as right.  Apostle John wrote the verse we know so well, that He who the Son of God sets free, is free indeed (John 8:36).  Jesus spoke these words as He explained that those who sin are slaves to sin and right there, we get the picture of our enslavement and entanglement, despite the freedom that Jesus has given us.  From the words of Jesus Himself, it is clear that there is no shadow of slavery in the freedom that Jesus gives us, it is definite freedom, one that is undeniable.

  Brethren, when we limit the power of God in our lives, we are not living in the fullness of the freedom that He has given us.  Our Lord Jesus when healing blind men said to them “be unto you according to your faith” (Matthew 9:29) and give us a responsibility.  God will only work in our lives to the extent of our faith, the measure of faith that we present to Him, speaks of our understanding of the freedom and blessing of God that we have received through Christ Jesus.  Our expectation of God moving in our lives is determined by how much we have accepted the new life that we have in Christ Jesus, a life of His freedom.  When Jesus visited His hometown, we are told that He could not do many miracles because of the unbelief of the people (Mark 6:5-6).  Though Jesus was ready to minister to them, their faith limited how much He could do.  We can look at the story of the elephant and laugh that he was foolish or we can learn from it.  The elephant though powerful was limited in his thinking and understanding of a life away from the pole and so he chose to stay in the familiar.  We too at times, are so comfortable in our surroundings and have accepted our pain as part of life, maybe it is time we turned to Jesus and inquired what His freedom means in our specific situation.  He has given us full and whole freedom and is waiting for us to have the faith to live and walk in the fullness of it.  Jesus set us free for freedom sake, we cannot allow ourselves to remain tethered to what has always been familiar and accepted by others as normal.  Beloved, may we endeavour not to just live natural lives but to live in the supernatural life that Christ came to give us.

 Thoughts:

What does Christ’s freedom look like in your life?

Where have you remained entangled?

How will you walk in the fullness of Christ’s freedom?