July, 2007

Freedom

Freedom Follows the Flag

Reading the “Book of the Law” is a privilege which not all have. When the Americans first occupied Manila, the prison doors were opened for “political offenses.” One of these crimes, according to the Spanish government, which then ruled the Philippines, was reading the Bible. One day a man came to Dr. Homer Stuntz, and asked to see him in strict privacy. He then asked in a whisper if it were true that he could now read his Bible without danger of imprisonment. Dr. Stuntz took him to the door and asked him to look at the American flag floating near by. Then he said, “So long as you see that flag floating over your country, you can sit on the ridgepole of your house, if you want to, and read the Bible, and no one can molest you.” - Gospel Herald

From Knight's Master Book of 4,000 Il1ustrations - Walter B. Knight, 1994, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, page 234.

True Freedom

Many people think that freedom is the license to do whatever a person wants, but true freedom is the ability to do what is right. It takes obedience in order to have true freedom. I can sit at a piano and be at liberty to play any keys that I want, but I don't have freedom, because I can't play anything but noise. I have no freedom to play Bach, or even “Chopsticks.” Why? Because it takes years of practice and obedience to lesson plans to be truly free at the piano. Then, and only then, does one have the freedom to play any piece of music.

The same is true of freedom in living. To be truly free, we must have the power and ability to be obedient.

From 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching - Michael P. Green. Baker Books, 2000, Grand Rapids, MI, Page 156.