What Does Freedom Really Mean?

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Corinthians 3:17

 

Freedom seems simple, doesn’t it? The ability to do what you want, when you want—yet every choice carries consequences. Run a red light, and you might face a crash or a ticket. But having just returned from Lusaka, Zambia, I see freedom again with a renewed meaning.

 

In 2010, I met Josephat Zulu, a housepainter turned pastor, who had planted a church in a rural settlement near Lusaka. He told me, “If my family knew we would eat every day, we could grow the church, start a school, and launch an orphanage.” That day, my wife Jerri and I made a commitment—Zulu’s family would never go hungry again. And we’ve kept that promise for fifteen years.

 

This recent trip was a sobering reminder of what poverty looks like: 22 million Zambians, nearly half struggling to find their next meal. Where is freedom when you don’t know if you’ll eat today? Where is freedom when clean water is scarce? Where is freedom when electricity lasts only a few hours a day? We visited the school, the orphanage, and villages where survival is a daily battle.

 

Here in the U.S., we think we’re free—but with so many choices, we often lean on our own decisions rather than the Holy Spirit within us. We have the freedom to choose what screen we watch and what books we read—freedoms that shape our thoughts, beliefs, and priorities. Yet, in Zambia, many are simply choosing between hunger and survival, chewing sugarcane just to quiet their hunger pangs.

 

My friends, true freedom comes from the Spirit of the Lord. Will you use some of your freedom to bring hope to those in need? A simple act of kindness can change a life. Thank you.

 

To God Be The Glory!