A week ago, NBC news reported that a bear broke
into a zoo in Tennessee. A
Knoxville resident reported seeing the bear in a city park and alerted local authorities. The responding officer found the bear climbing over a fence surrounding the Knoxville Zoo. After alerting the
zoo’s staff and counting every bear in the park, authorities decided the bear had come from the wild. The bear broke into
captivity in order to escape its freedom.
That
is a funny story, but it often resembles the temptation of spiritual freedom. Jesus sets us free, we face challenges
in our freedom, and we do everything we can to return to our captivity. Freedom makes us uneasy. In our weakness, we prefer the confines of captivity.
Humans
have wrestled with this temptation for a long time. God used Moses to deliver the Israelites from slavery in
Egypt. As Israel began living a
life of freedom, they longed for their captivity. The Israelites questioned Moses: “If only we
had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate
all the food we wanted.” The
Israelites preferred to die in captivity rather than live in freedom.
As
you go through the coming week, embrace the freedom Jesus has given. Make God honoring decisions because you are free. As you do, you will find real liberty. And,
you’ll avoid all the challenges of life lived in a zoo.
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