Freedom.

What does the word freedom truly mean to you? I know when I think about freedom my mind begins to drift. As I try to seriously think about it, I can't help but to recall the words of a famous movie actor... "FREEEEEEDOM!" Yeah, Braveheart. I know I'm silly. My thoughts serve as a continuous reminder. You should stop by some time, it's a non-stop thrill ride! Sometimes it's such a struggle to be serious!

Anyhow, I sat at my desk yesterday pondering freedom. More specifically, I was thinking about how to relay to my church kids what freedom means. How can they, being that they are just children, relate? I began to search the Word. When stumped with a life question, I tend to resort to what Scripture says. So, in asking myself what it means to be free I think John puts it best. "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." Wow!

With freedom defined, I had to decide upon a craft. I quickly, with the help of google, came up with a craft: we'll make fans! You know the type: flat, hard paper at one end and a stick at the other used to fan your face when you're hot. I went to the store and got cardstock, paint stirrer sticks, stickers and markers to decorate. These fans are supposed to serve a couple of purposes. Of course they'll keep us cool in the hot sun, but more than that, when we use them they are going to remind each us of what freedom is. AND, they are to serve as a tool in witnessing about our freedom to others. Here's how: The colors used in our culture to represent freedom and liberty are: red, white and blue. Well, after some thought, and obvious help from the Holy Spirit because I'm not that clever, I really felt like these colors could appropriately represent our spiritual freedom as well. Let me explain.

I'll start with blue. Blue can represent the state of our former selves broken, hurt and bruised. We needed healing and care, who doesn't? We ache and long to be made whole. Blue is an ideal color to represent our sorrow, our injuries, our bruises. Remember that old Elvis Presley song, "Blue Christmas"? "...I'll be so "blue" just thinkin' about you..." Well, looks like I'm not the first to use the color blue to describe heartache.

But, there's Red! I love the Red! Red represents the blood of Jesus Christ. The blood of Christ covers ALL... aches, pains, injuries, sins, ALL brokenness! Amen? When you're blue, all you've gotta do is run into the arms of the One who loves you. His love and grace are more than enough to cover a multitude of sin and heartache.
 

Then, you've got the color white. Oh, the joy of being made whole again! The newness that fills your entire being when you accept Christ into your heart and make the shadow of the Most High your dwelling place, joy! Your life is a clean slate ready for you to make your first mark. We are made new creations in Christ, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" Hallelujah! White, we are forgiven of sin and made white as snow.
 

Freedom comes when we ask Jesus Christ to come be a part of our lives. Once we ask Him for forgiveness and to give us a clean slate, we are free. The freedom that comes from knowing Him will truly set your heart free, especially knowing the eternal aspect. As we celebrate the July 4th weekend, I'd like to encourge you to remember the freedom that we received as a gift from God. Share your freedom with others and you will help give the greatest gift that can be given.

Okay, so that was my thought for our Wednesday night craft. Unfortunately, it was just me and my kiddos in class last night. You know what though, I was able to do the craft with my kids and follow up after we got home. It was a great opportunity to really delve into what it means to be free. We'll be fanning our faces with our new "freedom fans" this weekend and ready to let everyone know what we think about our freedom.