What are you doing with your freedom?

So my last post is kind of the introduction to this topic about freedom. I think the beginning would be to acknowledge the freedom that you have. One of the staff , Phil, at A21 (an organization aimed at ending modern day slavery) is quoted to say: “The one thing that freedom and slavery have in common is that they are both undeserved”. There are people that are born in to poverty and people born in to wealth these people did nothing to deserve either circumstance. The freedom we have is not related to what we deserve, in fact if you are a bible believing Christian you may go as far as to say the freedom you have is completely undeserved. But we have freedom non the less. So now what to do with it? Well before we actually tackle that I would like to use the Israelites as an example of freedom being a mindset. Let me take you to Exodus. As Christians I feel like we judge the Israelites but in honesty I know I would have probably behaved in the same manor and maybe we all do today. The Israelites were slaves, not just for a few years but for centuries. It’s all some of them knew. I’m sure by then they had completely forgotten the promises of God to Abraham their forefather. I’ve been there. And it did not even take me a decade to forget all that God has promised me. Doesn’t hard times just do that, it gives your soul amnesia. So no wonder when they are finally free the Israelites continues to behave like slaves. When God gave them food for the day and said to not store any of it, most of them went and put some away “for a rainy day”. When things got tough in the desert they longed for Egypt even though in the desert they were free but in Egypt they were slaves. God freed the Israelites from slavery under Pharaoh, but what were the Israelites doing with their freedom. As an outsider looking in, and as a Christian knowing the end of the saga and what Jesus did: it’s really easy to judge. I find myself knocking my head and wondering how the so called “Gods people” could just miss the plot completely. But God gently reminds me of my own soul amnesia. I think we all can be like the Israelites. Free people with slaved mind sets. Which is why I would ask : do you realize that you are free. This statement can stump you if you are looking through the perspective of the world. There are wars going on, humans being sold as commodities, the economy is failing and the ice caps are literally melting. The world is scary. But if you have a Kingdom mindset you will understand that although we are in this world; we are not of it. So it’s time. It’s time to take off those slave garments and walk in the truth: you are free. Jesus Christ came to this Earth, lived a perfect life, was murdered and rose from the grave ; all of this to set you free. So, say it with me now: I am free, for whom the Son sets free is free indeed. So now that we’ve established (in my previous post and in this one) that we are free. What are we doing with that freedom. Are we like the Israelites not experiencing the fullness of our freedom because we are living with a slave mentality. Are we keeping freedom to ourselves like an exclusive club that requires certain criteria for membership. Are we ashamed of our freedom and conforming to be in bondage because we are not courageous enough to live in freedom. I think I’ve lived in all of the above scenarios. Freedom does not come easy and it does not come cheap. But the wonderful fact is that Jesus did the impossible hard work and paid the price. Our human minds can’t comprehend but it is the truth. In the end with the freedom we enjoy comes a responsibility. I believe abundant life can start when we live in a freedom (kingdom) mindset. No shackles can hold a man down who in his mind knows that he is free. So I ask you to think on this question: what am I doing with my freedom.