Freedom is complicated
“I want to be free.” What could be wrong with that desire? It seems natural enough, and good. Who doesn’t want to be free? But the reality is that freedom is complicated. No-one is absolutely free. For example, however much we may wish differently, we are not free to live for five hundred years or to be in more than one place at the same time.
Someone may also deliberately limit their freedom in one area in order to be able to enjoy the freedom to do something else. The concert pianist who performs with breathtaking brilliance on the stage is only free to play like that because she has given up hours and hours of freedom in order to practice, day in and day out.
Furthermore, it is possible for one person to limit their freedom so that someone else may enjoy their freedom all the more. Parents know all about that! And parents who refuse to limit their own freedom for the sake of their children will be a total nightmare.
What does this have to do with Christianity? Jesus promised that, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). He wants to set us free from sin and all that it leads to, including death and hell. But he can only do that by limiting his own freedom – which he did first by becoming a man, and then by dying an awful death in our place. There can be no greater freedom than this, and no greater price paid to purchase it.