“go get ’em tiger”

These were the last words Mary Jane Watson spoke to Spiderman as he went out to fight the crime for the closing scene in this summer’s latest release, Spiderman 2.  Spiderman then lept from the window with a zeal never before seen in the entire movie.  Honestly, I was really caught up in the scene, and was saying to myself ‘well, it’s about time, way to go Spiderman!’  Why?  This came after watching an entire movie of action (obviously), but seeing also a sense of depression throughout the movie, as if Peter Parker (Spiderman) was locked in some form of a prison of bad luck and misery.  Even in the closing scene, Peter Parker is found in his room depressed that his love was getting married to another guy.  She leaves the wedding just in the nick of time (good move), rushes to Peter Parkers apartment to share what she did and then engages in a momumental kiss, unlocking Peter’s prison.  Or did she?  Although I’m not going to answer that, it does, however, beg a very important question: what is freedom? That’s a great question.  The danger is, most of the world and namely even Christians are thrusting into their own freedom, yet still confined in bondage to a greater prison.  The prison of slavery.  I’ll get into what this is, but first let’s see what the Bible makes sense of this freedom:

“I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts”
– psalm 119:45

“…where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
– 2 corinthians 3:17

The danger of the quest of true freedom is that millions of people miss it: both Christians and non-Christians alike.  For the non-Christian, it’s pretty simple: Christ came into the world to set them free from this world.  Easy.  But for the Christian, it’s a bit more complex.  But you say “Christ has already set us free, right?”  Indeed, but Christ set you free from the chains of the prison that you were confined to, however this doesn’t mean that you can’t walk right back to the same prison and sit in the cell with the door open.  Don’t you see?  When you’re in the prison, despite whether that door is open or not, you’re enslaved again!  The only reason you feel free is because the door is wide open.  However, you look confused after attack, and attack, and attack just keep coming your way.  It starts off fine, even delayed, so you can get caught in the trance, but that’s just the bait, the lure of the enemy.  I feel it best explained:

“charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting”
– proverbs 31:30

… but I don’t think Paul could have summed it up best when said:

“…but do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature”
– galations 5:13

“shall we go on sinning that grace my increase?  by no means!  we died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”
– romans 6:1-2

Paul wasn’t ignorant, he knew precisely what this ‘freedom prison’ was all about and pleaded for his beloved to see it.  I only state this for you to look at your own life.  I see people, even in this internship, caught in this trap, even myself!  I sometimes don’t catch it until a week later after living and breathing it, but it’s there.  Look closely at your life as I look closely at my own… are you sitting in the cage?  Perhaps on the threshold of the cage?  Be free, in Jesus’ Name!  Be so far from that cage, that you don’t even think of it.  It’s as if, like Mary Jane, you ran from your prison (the wedding she didn’t want to be locked up in) and ran to her true love (this better be Jesus) and let everything go on Him.  The Lord longs to show you His freedom.  Are you willing to give it a try?

“set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name”
– psalm 142:7a