The Price of Freedom

The transition from non-Christian to Christian, from the lie to the truth is a hard one.

By the grace of God, when you become filled with the Holy spirit you are gifted with a new mind, a new heart, and new desires. The way you see the world changes. It's as if someone finally took off the blinders that you weren't aware were there, and now you can see and are free from the tyranny of the world and the sin you were living in.

I can suddenly see and I'm free.

But freedom comes at a price and the price is everything.
A friend of mine Duane, says it best in his note called So If I Want That, What's It Going To Cost Me?, "

It certainly will cost you an easy life. It will cost you popularity. At times, painfully, it will cost you the relationship you so desire with your family and friends. You will have to discipline yourself. You will have to buffet your body. You will have to say no to temptation. You will have to have to say NO to this world. You will have to break with the crowd. You will have to be willing to stand alone for Christ. You will have to be willing to walk to the beat of a different drummer and to step out of the crowd even if no one follows after Jesus Christ. You must be willing to stand for Jesus Christ even if you were the only person in the world for Jesus Christ. That’s the cost factor.

You would have to be willing to suffer persecution for Christ, and let me tell you…it will come. It might even cost you your life.

I have already found this to be true. You must give up your old habitual life in pursuit of a holy one. You must leave it all to walk with God.
You will lose friends, family, you will feel completley alone. But the truth is, you never are alone. God loves you perfectly and fulfills all needs. He is your father, your husband, your brother. He corrects every wrong and heals all wounds no matter how old or deep. He never left you and he never will.

He is wonderful and gracious and beautiful and deserves your all, he must be the center of your life so that all things are for and from him.

Easier to say than do...I have struggled with this.
Fear of persecution is my greatest sin. It is hard to publicly proclaim your love and faith in Jesus. The way his love has touched your heart and completley rearranged your life.
I am afraid of the way I will be looked at, or the things people will say. I am afraid of not being able to answer their questions logically and the ridicule that will ensue.
And I am deeply ashamed of this.

Jesus was tortured beyond belief, and hung on a cross bleeding and in unimaginable pain...he did this willingly, he did this for me...and for you.
His love was truly unconditional, and after all he went through I cannot suffer a few dirty looks and confrontations?

Being Christian takes bravery and courage. Takes unbelievable amounts of love, not just for God or your family and friends, not just for the church or even the word...but for your enemies.
It is hard and it will never be easy, but it is worth it in ways beyond our comprehension.

I am afraid. I am imperfect. I am a sinner everyday.
I feel like I have so much work to do.

But it is done.

Jesus said "It is finished" because the work has been done. He calls to us in his beautiful melodic voice to lay it down, to fall into his arms and give it all to him. He is the father that strokes your hair while you cry and tells you that there is nothing left for you to do but to love and be a light in the darkness. To let that light shine brightly so that others may see it and know the light as well.
He is my strength, and in him and with him, I have no fear.
I have nothing to do, but follow him and never hide the light he floods my life with.
I am drowning in his grace and blinded by his brilliance but somehow feel like for the first time I am opening my eyes and can just breathe.


I encourage you to search for the truth. To search with an open heart and an open mind and see where it leads you.

He is the way, the truth, and the life and if you search he promises you, he will always be the answer.