As Free as A Bird

The following is an excerpt from my morning devotion from Living by Faith.

Imagine a bird that has been caught and shut up in a cage.  It longs for freedom, but the cruel bars make that impossible.  Then the door is opened.  The bird sees the opening, but has so often been deceived in its attempts to gain its freedom, that it hesitates.  It hops down and finds that the prison really is open, trembles a moment for very joy at the thought of liberty, then spreads its wings and wheels through the air with such rapture as can only be known by one who has been captive.  “Free indeed!”  As free as a bird.

The words of Jesus, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, ¹⁹ to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18, 19.

The whole import of the text is that Christ came to give freedom in every sense of the word.  It is charged with the idea of liberty to an extent that few realize.  You will be amply repaid for a few minutes of studying it closely, and for many hours of meditating on it later. 

Sin is bondage.  Jesus said, “Verily, Verily I say unto you, every one that committeth sin is the bondservant of sin.”  John 8:34.  Not only are you in bondage, but you are in prison.  The Apostle Paul says, “The Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.  But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up into the faith which should afterwards be revealed.”  Galatians 3:22, 23.  The word “concluded” means “shut up together.”  All sinners are in bondage, shup up together in prison, condemned to hard labor. 

The end of sin is death.  James 1:15.  Consequently you are not only shut up in prison, condemned to hard, unprofitable labor, but you have the fear of death continually before you.  It is from this that Christ delivers you.  See Hebrews 2:14, 15.  “For He hath looked down from the height of His sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth; to hear the groaning of the prisoner, to loose those that are appointed to death.”  Psalms 102:19, 20.  Christ says, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”  John 8:36. 

This is the liberty with which Christ frees the captive of sin.  The Psalmist had that experience and said “Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers, the snare is broken, and we are escaped.” Psalms 124:7.  This is the experience of every one who truly and without reserve accepts Christ. 

It is the truth that gives this freedom; for Christ says, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32.  He is the truth, and His word is truth.  The Psalmist says, “Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Thy law is the truth.” Psalms 119:142.  “I will walk at liberty, for I seek Thy precepts.” Psalms 119:45.  From the margin, this is literally, “I will walk in a broad place, for I seek Thy precepts. “  This fits with verse 96:  “I have seen and end of all perfection; but Thy commandment is exceeding broad.”  The commandments of God form an exceedingly broad place in which all may walk who seek them.  They are the truth, and it is the truth that gives freedom.

The law of God was, and is, in the heart of Christ.  Psalms 40:8.  Out of the heart are the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23); therefore the life of Christ is the law of God.  When you attempt to keep the law in your own strength, you invariably get into bondage, just as surely as though you willfully broke the law.  The only difference is that in the latter case you are a willing slave, while in the former you are an unwilling slave.  In Christ alone the perfect righteousness of the law is found, and therefore His life is “the perfect law of liberty,” into which we are told to continually look.  James 1:25; Hebrews 12:2.  The law that shuts you up to certain death when you are out of Christ, becomes life and liberty to you when you are in Christ. 

The liberty which Christ gives you is the liberty of your soul.  It is liberty from the bondage of sin.  That, and that alone is real religious liberty.  It is not found anywhere but in the religion of Jesus Christ.  When you have that liberty, you are free even in a prison cell.  The slave who has it is infinitely more at liberty than his cruel master, even if the master is a king.  Who is there who does not want liberty that is something more than a name?

And now one more word of encouragement to you if you are the slave of sin and are heartsick because of your bondage, and are discouraged through the failure of your repeated attempts to escape.  Freedom is yours, if you will but take it.  Read again the words of Christ, which are living words today.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”  Isaiah 61:1, 2. 

What is that?  Liberty has already been proclaimed.  Your prison doors are already open, and you only have to believe it, and walk out, continually believing it.  Christ is today proclaiming liberty to you, for He has broken the snare, and loosed the bonds.  Psalms 116:16.  He tells you that He has opened your prison door, so that you may walk at liberty, if you will only walk by faith in Him.  It is faith that opens the door to you when you are shut up in sin.  Believe His word, declare yourself free in His name, and then by humble faith stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made you free.  Then you will know the blessedness of the assurance:

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.”  Isaiah 40:31.