Freedom and Independence
“We have escaped like a bird from the hunter’s trap. The trap has been broken, and we have escaped” (Psalm 124.7).
Recently I saw inspiring video of dramatic and dangerous rescue attempts of several different entrapped animals. A doomed moose stuck in deep mud was pulled out and saved by sheer grit of human effort and engineering. A young seal, tangled in rope wrapped tight around is neck, was caught by skilled helpers who carefully cut off the rope strands one by one, and sent it scampering back to its home in the ocean waves. I saw pigeons fly out of an opened cage into the blue sky. Hardest to watch was the difficult separation of two large, struggling multi-point bucks, antlers locked together, as two courageous men risked their own safety and managed by trial and error to cut the antlers. The men were rewarded when the bucks ran off, free to roam once again.
I find it curious that these wild animals don’t know that their rescuers are their friends. They think quite the opposite and put up a fight. But this doesn’t stop the operation. Freedom is the most important thing, and the rescuers tolerate being misunderstood as long as there is hope.
This week we celebrate another kind of freedom: our national independence. The Revolutionary War was a much greater challenge than we think. It was made even harder because many of the colonists took sides with England. Families were divided. Relationships were damaged. But the war continued.
Finally, it was won.
Freedom gained.
Spiritual freedom is like the rescue of the animals and the war so long ago. We don’t always recognize it as a blessing, but God keeps trying to help us. Better to let Him do His work and give us the blessing we so desperately need. If we submit, He will cut the ropes of sin that bind us. It may feel like a loss but we will soon discover that salvation is a gain that can’t be measured.
