Free At Last!

“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

That cry originated with an old Negro Spiritual and was made famous by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his famous “I Have A Dream” speech and it has been a rallying cry for many different people and groups who feel oppressed and enslaved. You can feel the emotion of emancipation whenever you say the words, even if you personally aren’t subjugated in any way.

What is the power in that word, “free” and the concept of freedom? For most of human history freedom, it seems, has been the desire of one group or nation or race from another almost non-stop.

Freedom was a driving force in our own nation’s Revolution and has been a rallying cry for every war since. The Fourth of July is a celebration of our freedom. Even Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Armed Forced Day; how many holidays do we celebrate that are related in some way to achieving and protecting our freedom? We Americans love our freedom!

And we should. But our political freedom is only part of the picture. The Bible calls us to focus on the best freedom of all, spiritual freedom in Christ. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross has provided us with something we could never gain on our own; freedom from sin. That is something worth celebrating!

As I read Romans 8 I get the same feeling as when I read the stirring words of MLK Jr. See if you feel it too…

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”

“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”