Freedom and Liberty

There is a difference between being free and living in liberty.

(Two incredible men taught me about this: Steven De Silva, and Shane Mandl. Google them...they're awesome!) 

Freedom is having chains removed, or the cage unlocked; liberty is choosing to live in freedom, to leave the cage and never go back.

Freedom from eternal separation from God, sickness, torment, poverty, and so much more, was purchased for everyone through the blood of Jesus on the cross. We were released into fullness of life through His resurrection from the dead.

So the cage is open for all of us, but choosing to acknowledge the fact that, without Jesus, we are dead, spiritually, and slaves to our past, our desires, our addictions, our failures and the consequences for our wrong choices and the wrong choices of people who have hurt, abused or used us, is not something everyone chooses to do.

When we admit our need, and acknowledge that Jesus holds the keys, He unlocks the cage; He removes our shackles. (Revelation 1:17-18; Isaiah 53:1-6)

The horrifying thing is that so many remain in the cage. They remain trapped, victims to their past and their mindsets from their previous lives. The truly hilarious thing is that they blame their stuck-ness on the devil. 

Don't get me wrong, the dark side is very real, as is the fact that the devil hates everyone. But it's no longer God versus the devil; God is far more powerful, the Bible is clear that Jesus defeated the devil at Calvary, and has been the Lamb who was slain from the beginning of the world, so He knew the end of the story before the beginning, including Adam and Eve's choice to abdicate their authority to rule and reign on the earth to...the devil. 

So since Jesus has now unlocked your cage, and has paid the price for you to live in liberty, and has given you authority over the world, the flesh and the devil, (John 16:33; Romans 6, 7, and 8; Galatians 5), it's your choice to live in the cage with the door open, or to spread your wings and fly...or be a lion...a free lion...or whatever! It's time to leave the zoo!