Freedom & Peace

Ahh, the end of Camp.  Bittersweet.   Bitter because I hate to see a season end with all the joy that the ministry brings.  Sweet because we are tired and worn out and need a break.  Last night when I finally got home, I felt a great sense of lightness.  I felt like I could float into the air with the absence of the weight of camp.  On the other hand I miss the campers and the staff and feel bad as I hear about the struggles that some of them are already encountering.

All this today got me thinking about freedom and peace.  As I watch the lives of people, especially as they reveal themselves on Facebook, I see so many people whose lives are not characterized by much peace or a sense of freedom.  This is too bad, especially when those people are Christians.  I think there are a couple of major reasons why we don't experience peace and freedom.  First, we don't understand what they really are in Biblical terms.

Freedom in the Bible is the absence of negative bondage.  The Bible tells us that Christians are free from death, free from sin.  We no longer have to live controlled by those things.  Peace is the security of mind and heart that comes from trust in Christ.

Too often we think of freedom as the absence of any restraint and peace as the absence of any trouble.  This is not the case.  Often God's people have been imprisoned, even tortured.  They have suffered hardship and persecution.  Christians can suffer from disease, accident, or any of the other things that plague our world today.  Jesus said in John 16:33  "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."    This verse was really driven home to me this summer.   Notice what Jesus says, we will have tribulation or trouble but He gives us  peace.  Peace and the freedom of Christ comes no matter what we are going through.  We can have terrible times that are hard and hurt, but we can still have peace.  Peace and freedom come when we are focused on Christ, His work in us, and our standing with Him.

I may find myself facing hard times, difficult and even painful situations.  How well I cling to Christ and allow Him to live in me and I in Him will be evident by the amount of peace you see me reflect.