how free are you?

By: Greg Miller 
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How free would you say you are? The last several bible study trips to the Beaver County Jail have been amazing! I have heard comments made by inmates that, in my 25 years of pastoral ministry, I didn’t hear from churchgoers. Those comments reminded me that there is a freedom in Christ that surpasses all circumstances.

One man asked about the son of perdition mentioned in the Bible. My mind immediately went to Judas, who is referred to as the son of perdition in John 17:12. “But I thought there was something in Thessalonians about a son of perdition that had to do with the end times,” he said. Sure enough, in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 it talks about the day of Christ coming when the man of sin has been revealed – and that man of sin is called the son of perdition. I don’t even remember studying that in seminary but an inmate in Beaver County Jail was all over it.

Another man told me that he was glad that his court date has been postponed because it gave him an extra couple of weeks to be a light in the jail. “I am more free here in jail than many people are on the outside,” he said. Wow! Talk about faith! I was blown away.
Are you truly free? True freedom only happens when you are in Christ. No matter what your circumstances are, Jesus gives you spiritual freedom. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32) “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

It is something to marvel that men who are incarcerated may have a better grasp of this than we do! We are often bound up by our worries, sins, and concerns. We can learn a lesson from these inmates who know a freedom that iron bars can’t even take away.  True freedom is being found in Christ!  Thanks be to God!