Freedom

What is freedom? 

Freedom is the God-given gift to his intelligent creatures enabling to think, choose, and act, independent of any external influence. All intelligent beings for example, angels and mankind possess this gift. Freewill, freedom or freedom of choice is the fundamental component of love. If I were to brew love inside a bottle, freewill will be its most vital ingredient. It is crucial for love to work. The universe testifies of God's great wisdom through law and order. Every atom, planet, and galaxy follow their God-given purpose and order. Is love without order? Does freedom mean being free from law? On the contrary, love and freedom is best experienced within the conditions of God's law and order. 

What are those conditions?

The first thing that we all must understand is that the whole universe belongs to the one who created it. It is His by law and by right. So here stands two individuals, take for example, you and God. Both of you have the right to choose and do whatever you wish. God has His set of values and moral standards, and so do you. For love to work, the two parties must reach an agreement, or as we call it today, a covenant. The success of the relationship depends on the fulfilment of the covenant conditions by both parties. When we live in our parent's house, it is only right that we love and obey our parents. The same goes for God. We live in His universe; it is only right that we love and obey Him. God says, "You are free to choose to your own path, but if you can do life my way, that would make things easier for all of us." Adam and Eve breached the covenant agreement and made things a bit harder for the rest of us.

The Breach in the Law

The normal course of law and order is that any breach requires a penalty or punishment. It is also an inevitable law of nature that all actions have their consequence (cause and effect). It is naturally impossible for any creature to live without God and His way. When establishing the covenant with God, we exercise our freedom to submit ourselves to the will of God. By falling for the deceptive offer made by the Serpent, Adam and Eve chose not to follow God's way, and invoked a series of consequences that added to their penalty. The deep purpose of all punishment is to teach lessons that will prevent future breaches in the law. Our world has then become a lesson book for the whole universe upon which God writes two major lessons:

• God is love.
• His way is the best.

Humanity and the rest of the universe has learned a lot these past 6000+ years. God did not stand back and watch humanity descend into misery. He stepped in and decided to lead out in the greatest problem-solving project of all time. Some of us call it: The Plan of Salvation.

God's Remedy for Sin:

As soon as there was sin, there was a Saviour. When God came down to search for naked Adam and Eve, the verdict has already been decided. They broke the covenant and must now face their death penalty. However, God had designed a provision in His law: should mankind sin, the Son of God would take their place under the executioner's axe, and they would walk away free should they accept the sacrifice. Love and freedom come with great risks, but God was willing to pay the steep price. One generation after the other, the knowledge of the promise of the Gospel has been passed down through them who believed in God until it was manifested within a poor family in the town of Nazareth, some 2000 years ago. Behold the Deliverer, our Redeemer! Through His birth, life, and death, Jesus spread before the pages of a new covenant.

The New Covenant:

If ever there was something we can learn from more than 6000 years of human history, it is that life without God in the equation leads to disaster, destruction, and eventually death. Since Adam and Eve broke the original covenant by trying to take matters into their own hands, God fought on their behalf in heaven's judgment hall, won the case, and came down to establish the new covenant that came with the promise of the Gospel of Jesus, the Seed, the Christ. The conditions were:

• Jesus takes our punishment.
• God puts His law in our minds and writes it in our hearts.
• We submit ourselves to God and He rules over us.

Do we owe God? Yes, big time! Should we follow His rules? Of course! I'd do anything for someone who saved me from eternal doom! This is the principle of the new covenant; that we submit ourselves to God so He can fulfil in us what we cannot do for ourselves. What do we say then? Do we continue using our freedom to rebel against God's laws and make void the sacrifice of Jesus? Only a fool would turn away from God. God is trying to teach us, that within the boundaries of His will, there is true freedom.

What is True Freedom?

If we wish to experience the true peace of God, then our definition of freedom must be changed. Many believe that freedom is to be able to do whatever we want. When we go down that path, we will soon find out that the consequences of our choices and actions are often harmful to ourselves and to everything that surround us. The historical lessons from God clearly define what true freedom is, and that is: freedom is submission to God. He who loves us more than anyone else in the universe will never betray our love, nor will He ever break our trust. Is this divine relationship beneficial to for and me? Only time will tell. You just have to trust God and find out for yourself. 

I wish you well on your journey...