Freedom

Where the spirit is, there is liberty.


Sometimes we do not realise how much freedom we have.

Why do I say that? As I sat in church today, the emcee was reading out how the church funds are being used for world missions in Cambodia, Macau, China and Indonesia. Following that, a short presentation which is supposed to encourage people to give into missions. After which, I felt the spirit impress a word in my mind "Freedom". What does it mean for us, people in general for us to be free? In the Christian context, what can we define as the freedom we know? When I say know, its not the head knowledge know, but the experiential (if theres such a word) know.

In Singapore, we enjoy racial and religious freedom. People are free to choose whichever they want to believe in. I meant religion, not RACE. Hahaha. Yet sometimes we fail to see the bliss in religious freedom. Let me tell you that this freedom of ours cannot be taken for granted. If we think when our friends make fun of Christians, or badmouth churches and treat it as persecution, oh dear. You have seen nothing yet. The things Christians experience all over the world cannot be compared to what we experience in Singapore.

In India, in the remote villages, there are mobs that riad the villager's houses. They burn the houses down, robbing them of almost all their livelihood. Churches have also been raided and destroyed. Pastors and their families have been murdered. Believers burnt to death. The mobs cannot be stopped because they are too large in number. EVEN the POLICE are too scared to confront them. Literally thousands of Christians live in refugee quarters, while we sleep on our King Koil Queen-sized beds. With AIRCON. Shiok right. Yeah, but they? They sleep on the hard ground with no shelter, flies coming in swarms because they havent bathed for months. They use whatever they can find for clothes, utensils. and THE river. Capital t-h-e because EVERYTHING IS DONE THERE. Bathe, laundry, and.. big and small businesses which I do not want to discuss. Oh. and the drinking water is from there too. They live in fear for their lives, literally day by day, taking one day at a time.

YET. I repeat YET, in spite of all that is going on, Christians there remain faithful to God Almighty. IF we were in their shoes (actually i should not say shoes because some of them go barefooted, some with flattened water bottles at the base of their feet), would we really remain faithful? Or would we give in to overwhelming pressure from the opposing forces. Like they say "if you cant beat 'em, join 'em." This definitely cannot compare to the taunts we have in Singapore.

Lets look at China. it IS a LAW not to have churches other than those approved by the government. Christians there have to have what they call underground churches. Anyone caught will be dealt with severely. Believers have to be careful with what they blog, say over MSN, over the phone, across all forms of communication for fear that they are caught. They have codewords for anything and ALMOST EVERYTHING. Would that stop God from doing a work in China then? Would the believers just forsake the Lord for comfort? NO. They cry out to God every single day for the freedom to worship Him. They reach out to people like never before. In spite of law-binding circumstances, they DARE to step OUT of comfort INTO another's life.


Now what is freedom to you now? Strolling into Expo hall 8 for a power-packed service? Skipping cell group/church/bible study for some lame reason when you know you should be there? All these "noob" reasons placed alongside worldwide circumstances seem so-so small, yet they grow even more than we do. Do we really need to be placed under such circumstances in order to maximise our potential? We need to be decisive about the decisions we need to make, espeically men. And after making the decision, it is our bond to see it through.


Jesus was man enough to leave his parents and be in the temple to be about his Father's business.

Jesus was man enough to speak to thousands about the Word.

Jesus was man enough to heal the sick, cast out demons, and perform signs and wonders.

Jesus was man enough to challenge the religious leaders and Pharisees.

Jesus was man enough to serve his disciples.

Jesus was man enough to obey the call of God.

Jesus was man enough to step into his destiny.

Yes, he struggled, but eventually, he did what no other man on earth could do. IF Jesus did not embrace his destiny. IF Jesus did not keep his word. IF Jesus was not man enough. We would not have the grace that we have today.


Manhood and Christlikeness are synonymous. Period.