“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).
“Miss Liberty” she’s called—that statue with fingernails as large as dinner plates and who’s 151 feet tall from her sandals to her torch. But it’s not her size that impresses, it’s the message inscribed on her pedestal, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be breathe free.”
The Statue of Liberty still stands in New York harbor, and we are still free. But our freedom was not without a price. Thousands gave their lives in four major conflicts in the 20th century alone so that Miss Liberty might stand tall and we can breathe free.
“The cross of Calvary” it’s called, those timbers set up on that skull-shaped hill. The wood’s long gone, but not the liberty secured there. On that cross God’s Son secured a freedom far more precious than any other in the world. That cross speaks of freedom from sin’s curse and Satan’s slavery. No more accusing pangs of a guilt-pierced conscience. No more frantic scrambling to secure salvation with our own futile works. No more chilling fear of death’s cold chamber. The Son has set us free.
This freedom also had a price. Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Godman hung on that cross enduring the worst that both earth and hell could dispense. But he secured liberty in full with his complete payment for all sinners of all time. Now he offers that precious
liberty to me without price. It’s mine free of cost. I’m free to live for God and with God, on earth and in eternity.
Prayer:
“Blessed Savior, help me appreciate the precious liberty you’ve earned for me.” Amen.
From Together With Jesus: Daily Devotions for a Year, by Richard Lauersdorf. All rights reserved.
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