True Freedom
Two weeks ago I preached on what Proverbs says about the parent/child relationship. As I was preparing the message I saw there was much more material than could be used. I had to take out a pack of notecards and write out all the main subjects and spread them out on a folding table to try to sort them into some kind of coherent order. Even then about half the cards needed to go, yet still the first draft of the sermon was twice as long as normal. There’s so much to say about parenting, it can’t all fit into one service! But there would be many in the service whose kids have left home and many who have never had kids, so it would be important not to over do it.
After the service one of the first people who came up to me was an older gentleman with no kids at home. I assumed the conversation would be something like, “Well that was a waste of time.” Instead his first words were, “That last point about honoring your parents is so powerful. It’s something everyone needs to hear. I had so much anger and bitterness and hatred toward my parents and their raising me (or lack of) that for years it was eating me alive. But the moment I stepped in that water for baptism, it all went away.” We were both teary-eyed at this point. He continued, “God took that anger away in such a powerful way that I can now stand over her grave and say ‘I forgive you’ with all sincerity and freedom.”
Last week our country celebrated our national freedom. An estimated 3 billion dollars were spent on fireworks in America (I think most of that was in Valley Station!) We celebrate freedom from a foreign ruler, but the kind of freedom that man experienced after baptism is far more powerful. That’s why our memory verse this month is Galatians 5:1, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” If you are carrying around anger, bitterness, or unforgiveness toward your parents, or anyone for that matter, it’s important to forgive them (which is complicated and may still mean you need to set boundaries). Ephesians 6:2-3 says it so well, “Honor your father and mother… that it may go well with you.” The anger and bitterness toward them isn’t hurting them nearly as much as it is hurting the person carrying it around. When we honor our parents, it goes well with us. We find freedom!
My prayer is that every member of Valley View would walk in freedom from all anger and bitterness. I want our church to be known as the center of spiritual freedom in the South End of Louisville, a place where the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings healing and freedom every day. May your July be all about true freedom in Christ!
Photo by Nita