Freedom...

We just finished celebrating our freedom as a country on the Fourth of July...

But do we ever stop and think about all of the ways Jesus has set us free?

John 8:36 - "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

The question is...what do we do with our freedom? How do we respond?

There are so many in our world who do not know freedom...

The absence of freedom is slavery. Slavery is very real today in so many ways...

Take a look at some quotes from this news article titled "A Christian Call to End Human Trafficking..."

"There are more slaves in the United States today than at any time in history...

Jesus was clear about Christian's responsibility to do something regarding issues such as human trafficking when he told the parable of the Good Samaritan. When asked what it takes to inherit eternal life, Jesus immediately replied we must love God with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves. To clarify, he pointed to someone who sacrificially cared for a socially outcast stranger who had been stripped, beaten and left for dead. Jesus said "Go and do likewise."...

There is some good news here. One in three human trafficking victims is rescued because someone saw something that didn't look just right and reported it...

Whether by prayer, being aware, or giving time or money, faith means taking action. James put it well, "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:17)."

There are so many truths in this article...

Whether we are talking about human trafficking or our sin nature...slavery is a reality around us.

As those who have been delivered in Jesus, He has given us the charge to, once again, be His hands and feet to set the captives free...to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves!

Luke 4:18-19
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Jesus calls us to be agents of reconciliation...wherever we are...

Whether it's getting involved in a cause like human trafficking or child soldiers...

Or whether in the halls at school...on our sports team...in our families...

So many around us are slaves to themselves, slaves to others, slaves to their sin...

Not only can we relate, but Jesus has asked us to do something about it!