"Proclaim liberty throughout the land." These words are inscribed on the most famous bell in the world, the Liberty Bell. The bell is famous in spite of its lack of reliability; it cracked the first time it was rung! No, the bell is famous as a symbol of freedom, looked to the world over as an emblem of liberty. Nelson Mandela said that the Liberty Bell is "a very significant symbol for the entire democratic world."
The words upon this bell come from the biblical book of Leviticus, (Leviticus 25:10). In context, they refer to what the Bible calls "the Year of Jubilee," the time when all slaves were freed and all debts were cancelled. The people of Pennsylvania who commissioned the bell felt that these words, and the concept behind them, aptly described their feelings about the freedom they enjoyed in their new land.
Yet even in a land of freedom, many live as slaves. Slaves to their past. Slaves to their mistakes. Slaves to their passions. Many live in debt, not just monetary debt, but a debt toward God that they cannot pay on their own. They need freedom, a Year of Jubilee, a proclamation of liberty and forgiveness.
True freedom is not won on the battlefield. It cannot be granted by Congress nor taken away by tyrants. True freedom does not depend on nationality, race, or even form of government. Just as men can live as slaves under democracy, they can live as free men under the most despotic of dictators. True freedom is a gift from God.
Jesus said about himself in John 8:36: "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." Without Christ, there is no freedom; in Christ, there is the purest freedom of all. Freedom from the chains that bind the human race. Freedom from our past, freedom from our errors, freedom from our selves.
"Proclaim liberty throughout the land." Let us celebrate freedom, the freedom that Jesus Christ offers. Let us proclaim this true liberty throughout the land! In Christ, there is freedom. True freedom. Freedom that no man can give and no man can take away.
If you have not yet experienced the freedom that Christ has to give, or if somehow you've let yourself fall back into slavery, please write me at tim@hopeforlife.org and let me share with you the glorious news of liberty. There is freedom in Christ. That's something worth celebrating.
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