Live Like There's No YesterdaySample

Day Four

Called to Freedom

Scripture: Romans 6:1–14; Galatians 5:1; Ephesians 4:22

Christ came in order that we could be free. Paul writes, “For freedom Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). Yet for the most part we don’t experience the freedom God intended when he first thought of us. Too often we feel trapped, held back, unable to soar or attain the freedom and joy that seems to elude us on a regular basis. 

I see freedom as having two parts: freedom from and freedom for. In the Bible we see this demonstrated in the freedom from anything that takes us away from God. This includes anything that distances us from our true humanity and takes us away from being the holy, lovable people he made us to be. On the other hand, we have freedom for living a full, meaningful, abundant life. We are free to grow and move forward in a purposeful life. 

Paul tells us that we have freedom from the “old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires” (Ephesians 4:22). We also have freedom for putting on the new self, created to be like God, with true righteousness and holiness. 

We have freedom from being controlled by others, from negative restraints, from having our decisions limited or our choices made by others. We are also free from debilitating habits or behaviors such as addiction, lying, stealing, laziness, bitterness, and so on. 

The other half of freedom means that we have freedom for making our own decisions and choices without interference or limitations from others. We also have freedom to choose how we relate to people by demonstrating kindness, compassion, and forgiveness both for ourselves and for others.

In Romans 6, we see that we have freedom from the bondage of sin, as “we are those who have died to sin” (v. 2), and freedom for being “alive to God in Christ Jesus” (v. 11). 

We are always letting go with one hand while taking hold with the other. This is the dynamic nature of freedom. We are in the process of being pulled out of what binds us and taking hold of what gives our lives meaning, purpose, and significance. This is the freedom to which we have been called. 

Why would letting go of the past bring you more freedom?