Friday… The weekend… Freedom!!
Friday! The Weekend! Freedom! Its amazing how much more energy we can have when Friday afternoon rolls around and the final bell goes off. Whether it be school or work, it’s a great feeling to be free! Free from the responsibilities of Monday thru Friday. A.J.Gordon understands freedom and so do his little friends. Check out this story.
Gordon was out for a walk one day wen he saw a boy he know carrying a birdcage. Inside the cage were several frightened little brown birds. “Where did you get those birds?’ Gorden asked.
“I trapped them in the field,” answered the boy.
“What do you plan to do with them?”
“Oh, I’ll play with them for a little while, then I’ll probably feed them to my cat.”
Gordon felt a surge of pity for the little birds. They were made to be free. To fly free. But here they were huddled in the bottom of a bird cage. They seemed to understand what a gloomy future lay before them.
The boy was surprised. There was nothing special about these little field birds. They didn’t sing. They had no colorful feathers. They couldn’t be taught to talk to do anything else. But Gordon was serious about his offer and he bought the birds and cage together. When the boy was out of sight, Gordon opened the cage and let the birds go free. “That boy told be the birds couldn’t sing. But when I released them and they flew heavenward, it seemed to me they were singing “Freedom, freedom, freedom!!”
That’s a great picture of salvation. Gordon bought those birds in order to set them free. You too were bought with a price! On the cross, Jesus paid the ransom to set you free from the cage of sin and death.
Salvation is one of those religious words you hear so often that you almost forget it actually means something. Whenever you hear the word salvation, think “rescue.” You can think of lots of situation were somebody is in need of rescue – a pilot shot down behind enemy lines, a mountain climber stuck on a rock face, a family in a burning house. What do all rescue scenarios have in common? In each case somebody’s in a mess they can’t get themselves out of. To be in need of rescue means you have lost the ability to act for yourself. And obviously if you can’t help yourself, somebody from the outside has to get involved in your situation if you have any hope to get out of it.
Jesus, IS the great Rescuer. We don’t need just a little help getting ourselves out of the hole of sin and death. We don’t need a few helpful tips that would allow us to figure out for ourselves how to get out of the mess we’re in. We need a Savior, a Rescuer, just as surely as those caged birds needed someone to open the cage for them. Jesus bought you to set you free!
If you are still caged by sin, then turn to Jesus. You can’t open the cage by yourself. You can’t earn you way out or buy your way out. You need a Rescuer to get you out of the mess you were born into. Jesus has paid the ransom to set you free. Receive his gift and fly away in freedom! If you are unsure, check out www.Need4mercy.com. It’ll guide you to your freedom.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NRSV) By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God — not the result of works so that no one may boast.