FREEDOM TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT

Andra Sarpong

Genesis 3:1-7 and verse 16 (NIV) says

1Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.    

16 To the woman he said,

“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
    with painful labor, you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
    and he will rule over you.”

If you are thinking like me, I am sure you would also be wondering why God cursed Adam and Eve after giving them authority over everything in the Garden of Eden 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so (Genesis 1:29-30 NIV). So I looked up the meaning of FREEDOM in the Merriam Webster dictionary and it explains FREEDOM as “the quality or state of being free: such as the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action”. This brings my mind to the fact that having freedom means having the power to make choices including right and wrong. Let us also note that having the power to make choices or decisions doesn’t exempt us from the consequences. This is particularly where most of us get it wrong; we think being free means there would be no toll on the choices we make. Let’s look at something fascinating in one of the most popular verses of the Bible, John 3:16,16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. We all know this verse reiterates the truth that God gave His only begotten as a ransom for our FREEDOM after the fall of man in the Garden of Eden but, even in this verse we see the power of choices here; “that whosoever believes in Him” this is to emphasize that having freedom or being free will not take away your will power. Rather it gives you the boldness to execute your actions and decisions without being constrained. 

Let’s look at another powerful reading from the Bible. Deuteronomy 30:15-19 (NIV)

15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.

16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees, and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,

18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. 

Even when God is admonishing us to choose life so that we and our children may live (verse 19), we still have the power of choices (freedom) being come into play in verse 15.

Dear friends, I know we all have our freedom. Yes, we all have freedom because the blood of Christ has bought everyone (you and I) with a price and by virtue of the blood, we have been redeemed from slavery which means we are free. Nonetheless, it doesn’t end there. We still have a choice to make. A decision to believe in God and the finished works of Christ, thus accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and personal Savior, the prayer of Salvation. You can meditate on John 3:16 and say this prayer if you want to make the right choice of believing in Christ.

Prayer:

Dear Lord, I confess with my mouth that You are Lord. I believe in my heart that God raised you from the dead. I pray that You cleanse me and make me whole even as I accept you as my Lord and personal Savior. Thank you for saving me and giving me freedom. In Jesus’ name have I prayed with faith AMEN!!!!!!!!!!

Next time you hear FREEDOM, think of you having the power TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT.