Open Doors: Conversations with Heart of the Father
We hear people talk a lot about freedom, but what is freedom really?
Many say that freedom is the ability to make a choice. So we might call that freedom from tyranny. "As long as no one's telling me what to do, I'm free."
The problem with that view is that it's kind of neutral. All choices are equally valuable. Yet we know that's not really true. Some choices lead us into bondage and some choices bring us joy. So going further back, we can find Thomas Aquinas's definition of freedom- the ability to know and choose the good.
So you perceive what is good and you choose it. That's actual freedom.
The definition that we work from comes from John 8:34-36. Jesus said, "Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you'll be free indeed!"
At the root of our choices and at the root of knowing and choosing the good, there's the ultimate reality of knowing that you belong, that you're loved, and that you can experience a relationship with God where He's your father.
And so freedom is life in the Son. It's united to Jesus. He's redeeming our humanity, and it's from that perspective that we can actually see what is good and make those choices. 1 John 3:1 says, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God."
That's our true identity. When we live from that identity, we're free.
Listen as Rachel and Matt offer insight and even share some of their own personal stories of getting set free!