Defending Freedom
In this the last of my blogs on Freedom, I want to quickly recap what has been previously presented. The first blog titled, "What is Freedom?" defined biblical freedom for the Christian. The second titled, "The Real Price of Freedom" looked at what it costs to be free as a Christian. The third titled, "The Responsibility of Freedom" outlined the privileges and responsibilities that comes with Christian freedom. Today we examine what it takes to defend our Christian freedom.
Let me be clear: there is no virtue or value worth having that can be left undefended. The statement, “freedom is not free” is true. It takes effort to maintain freedom in certain areas of our lives. We cannot expect righteousness and justice to flourish in places where neither concept is defended; the same holds true for freedom. Christian freedom has to be spoken up for or it will be lost. Here is an example. Recently in England, a Christian was arrested outside of an abortion clinic for praying silently. Yes, you read that right. How did the police know he was praying? Because when he was asked what he was doing outside of the clinic he admitted that he was praying for the souls inside of the building which was closed. He wasn’t holding any signage, or walking towards people with literature or making a scene in any way. He was simply praying in his head which, in England was an offense worthy of arrest.
Lest we believe, “it can’t happen here”, read this article from Military.com that describes how Army personnel at a base in North Carolina were recently briefed erroneously about the potential “threat” posed by two pro-life groups. The organizations, National Right to Life and Operation Rescue, have no history of violence, but were identified as potential terrorist threats in a “botched” slide presentation earlier this year. The leaked slides set off a firestorm as the powerpoint presentation went viral. Apparently the slide presentation was not vetted by proper Army personnel who quickly retracted the information after both organizations and congressmen spoke out against the false characterizations.
You read all of that right.
On a personal level, we each have to be diligent in defending religious freedoms within our spheres of influence (home, work, family gatherings, hobby circles etc). From the right to wear a cross in public spaces to being allowed to pray in federally funded buildings, we have to make a stand for religious freedom. That being said, it does not do the witness of our faith in Christ any good if we act unrighteously or discourteously. If the love of Christ is not the banner we march behind then any religious symbolism we espouse will not only be in vain but tarnished. Some of you, dear readers, may be too young to recall images of the Ku Klux Klan burning crosses in the yards of southern black people as a means of intimidation. Having seen many such images, I can assure you that, if I didn’t know Christ for myself I would have questioned the tenants behind Christianity based upon the misguided actions of a home grown terrorist group.
At the end of the day, we serve a God who is more than able to fight our battles; we do well to remember that fact. His Son Jesus died for our Christian freedoms and for an abundant life; let us hold that sacrifice very very dear. As Paul said in Galatians 5:1 KJV 1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. We are not going back into any kind of bondage, including bondage to any type of sin because we don’t have to. Be bold, take a stand, define your values, walk in power and might and do it all in love. To God get the glory! Sylvia
Song: "Freedom Song" by Mandisa
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