Freedom

My girls like watching the Barbie movies. Last night while we were visiting my parents, I let them watch the newest one, "The Princess and the Popstar". I really liked "The Princess and the Pauper". It had themes of responsibility and self-sacrifice. However, in "The Princess and the Popstar" it was highlighting a concept of freedom. These are the lyrics of the chorus from a song early in the movie:

I wish I had her life
then I would be so free
I wish I had her life
I'd be another me.

As I chewed on this a little more, I was a bit frustrated by the bizarre concept of "freedom" that seems so prevalent in the U.S. The idea is: "I can be/do anything I want." Although we have SO MUCH freedom-- freedom to choose where I live, what career I pursue, what church to attend... or if I attend church at all-- I CANNOT be/do ANYTHING. I cannot be a dog or a horse, no matter how much I may think I'd like to be. I cannot steal or kill-- unless I'd like to go to jail or worse. And I cannot fly any more than I can change the shape of my arms or the size of lungs and liver to be more like a man's.

But in Christ, I am free to fellowship with my King. I am free to glorify my God. And I am FREE from slavery to sin! =)

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Let Israel say, "His steadfast love endures forever." Let the house of Aaron say, "His steadfast love endures forever." Let those who fear the LORD say, "His steadfast love endures forever." Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free.
Psalms 118:1-5
 
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1
 
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Galatians 5:13-14
 
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
Romans 6:6-13