Freedom Isn't Easy

Yesterday at Church, our Pastor preached on one of my favorite statements, Galatians 5: 1a,

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

He presented an interesting approach.  He divided the sermon in two parts, the first one being an intriguing take on what freedom is not.  And one of the things he said, freedom is not, is "easy."

Freedom isn't easy...

I have to admit that the statement has stayed with me because I don't think I ever truly thought about this idea before.  Freedom is one of those abstract concepts that I've always been enamored with.  It is one of the pillars of this great nation of ours, and it is precisely that pillar which has attracted me to the United States like a powerful magnet.  I don't believe I'm alone in this sentiment.  As a matter of fact, how could anyone not be in love with the idea of freedom?  It would be absurd to think that people purposely seek to be enslaved. The mere thought of it is ridiculous.  Or is it?

When choosing paths, even if we would not want to admit it aloud, most people tend to choose the easy way.  Maybe it's just me.  I know, I'm lazy that way...

Therefore...

...saying that "freedom isn't easy" implies that given the choice, most people... I ... would choose the path of slavery.

I do not like saying this aloud one bit.

Sigh...

I'm afraid it's true, though.  "There is a battle raging inside of each and every one of us.  It is a battle between our sinful nature and the Holy Spirit within us," our Pastor said.  And He knows it's true in his life, we know it's true in our lives, and God knows it's true too.  We hear the echo of our own inner nature reflected in the inspired words of Paul:

Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7: 21-25)

Left on our own, we choose the yoke of slavery every time.  Without the Holy Spirit we do not have the means to make godly choices.  Without the Holy Spirit fighting for us, fighting for our souls, we are lost in the fog of sin.  Therefore, when facing the fork in the road, we, instinctively, walk toward the one that seems smoother.  We take the one with the less resistance.  We veer off course following our desire for pleasure, comfort, carelessness, ease, company, or whatever it is that we feel we desperately lack and desperately want.  

We take the road that our shattered emotions point us to, clouded by the current pain or desire not knowing that it is that very road the one that will take us away from the one thing we truly seek: His Presence.

Choosing freedom is not easy because it requires that we abandon the things that bring us that temporary and fleeting comfort and relief we so much long for.  But how often don't we realize, that after a few steps into the road of ease, our elation begins to deflate?  The satisfaction we thought we'd get with our quick fix becomes ever more elusive and out of reach...so we get deeper and deeper into the darkness of our wrong choices, only to find ourselves lost and without a way out.

Freedom is not easy.  It is much easier to give into our selfish and self-servient nature...our sin, whatever it is...  Who will deliver me from myself?  Who will deliver me from my sin?  On our own, we just can't.  We need a Savior.  And praised the Lord for we do have Him, and His Name is Jesus!  Without Him, I don't have the ability to defeat my flesh.  The freedom in Christ is the freedom that breaks the chain of sin, and allows the Holy Spirit to dwell in me.  

The reason there is a battle raging inside of us...the reason we feel the tension at the fork in the road...the reason there IS a fork in the road, is because we have the Holy Spirit fighting our battles for us inside our souls.  Without the Holy Spirit, there would be no battle, for we would not even think about it, and automatically would choose sin...

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! 

(Romans 7: 24-25)

Here in America we say: Freedom isn't Free!  I totally agree with this statement.  Freedom is paid by the blood of the Lamb.  Freedom isn't easy either.  It requires the Presence of the Holy Spirit and our surrendering to His will and His path for our lives.