FREEDOM TO FOLLOW
On a journey to New Orleans, Abraham Lincoln paused to watch a slave auction. Deeply disturbed by what he witnessed, one young woman especially caught his attention. As men taunted and groped her, she glared back with hate-filled eyes. Lincoln shuddered as he imagined the abuse she had suffered, and what lay ahead for her. When the bidding began, Lincoln purchased her as his slave. Leading her away from the crowd, she glared at him with a mixture of contempt and fear, anticipating the further horrors she would endure by her new owner. Handing her the papers of ownership, Lincoln informed her, “I’m setting you free.”
“Free?” she asked sarcastically. “Free for what?” She practically spat the words.
“Just free,” Lincoln replied. “Completely free.”
“Free to do whatever I want?” “Yes.”
“Free to say whatever I want?” “That’s right,” Abe replied.
“Free to go wherever I want to go?” “Yes, you can go wherever you want.”
She paused, letting his words sink in. For the first time, a smile covered her face, as tears rolled down her cheeks. Finally, she spoke. “Then I want to go with you!”
Like this young woman, we’ve all stood on Satan’s auction block, taunted by the world and our own failures. Then Jesus came, purchasing us from bondage and setting us free. How we respond to our freedom is the critical question. Jesus frees us, not to pursue the desires of our flesh; not to live however we wish. That only further enslaves us. Galatians 5:13 reads, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh."
If you're a believer, why do you follow Jesus? Some view the freedom he offers as more bondage; just another set of rules to keep. But when you grasp the magnitude of what Jesus has done for you, your heart is stirred, and you choose to follow him, not from religious duty or fear or obligation, but from a heart overflowing with love and gratitude. When we truly embrace Christ's freedom, we can joyfully respond, like this young woman, "I WANT to go with YOU!"