恢復我們的自由！
恰克皮爾斯
來源：微牧之歌。蒙允刊載
我們已經確認了上帝渴望要恢復我們豐盛的生命– 不僅僅是原來的樣式而是更豐富到超乎我們想像。在我們第6-10天的靈修裡，我們來看上帝要在哪些特定的地方要來恢復你，從而使我們獨特，蒙福，豐富的生命更加有價值（這裡所提到的題綱其具體的內容有待在後面的章節裡會詳細講解）首要的是我們的自由！
“基督釋放了我們、叫我們得以自由、所以要站立得穩、不要再被奴僕的軛挾制。”（加5：1）
上帝渴望他的子民可以掙脫被挾制的鎖鏈。在新舊約中，上帝證明了這一點。以色列人被擄到埃及時在奴役中呻吟、歎息。上帝聽到了他們沉重的哀歎並紀念他和以色列人先主所立的約。在出埃及記中很大的一個篇幅展現了上帝如何讓他的子民脫離捆綁而得自由的過程。
之後，我們看到先知耶利米在拉瑪釋放以後、耶和華的話臨到耶利米。
"現在我解開你手上的鏈子。你若看與我同往巴比倫去好、就可以去、我必厚待你．你若看與我同往巴比倫去不好、就不必去．看哪、全地在你面前．你以為那裡美好、那裡合宜、只管上那裡去吧。"（耶40：4）
“自由“這個詞在這裡是希伯來文的”pathach”，意思就是打開，放鬆，打開結，釋放，解綁，揭開枷鎖或使擺脫約束，解放。透過希伯來文裡這樣的一個自由，先知耶利米不僅僅從囚困中得釋放，而上帝給了他一些選擇來開始他的新生命；枷鎖被解開後一個嶄新的門已大大的打開。
當然在聖經中關於直接影響到我們今天自由的例子就是上帝讓以賽亞所預言的主耶穌，
「主耶和華的靈在我身上．因為耶和華用膏膏我、叫我傳好信息給謙卑的人、〔或作傳福音給貧窮的人〕差遣我醫好傷心的人、報告被擄的得釋放、被囚的出監牢．」（賽61：1）
耶穌將我們從罪惡中釋放出來並恢復我們和天父的關係。當這個關係開始重新被聯結時， 那個攔阻我們恢復的就被破除。
罪是抵擋自由的，但是耶穌基督的死裡復活使我們可以從死罪中釋放出來並重生！
我們必須認識到我們是真正的得到了自由。
我曾聽過一個故事是關於一條狗被綁在一個柱子上很多年。那隻狗將綁著它的繩子拉到最長並圍著柱子繞圈。時間一年一年的過去，那隻狗因為不停地繞圈，地上都被踩踏出一條圓形的溝。儘管它可以看到更遠，但是它對世界被這根繩子所限制了。有一天，它的主人決定不再把它綁在柱子上。主人把繩子解開時以為會看到它衝出去到周圍探索那些它以前只能看得到卻到不了的地方。很奇怪的是，這隻狗沒有跑也沒有玩耍或去探索。即使是主人去引誘它，它只是照著以往的方式對著柱子在繞圈。
我們其實就像這隻狗一樣，我們常常沒有發現轄制我們的東西已經被挪去。即使是上帝已經在努力地讓我們進入新的自由裡，我們常常停留在我們給自己製造的安全圈裡。
我們要宣告我們已得著上帝給我們的自由 – 即使這意味著我們要走出在舊的季節裡那看似安全舒適的圈子。
Restore Our Freedom!
We have established that God is longing to restore abundant zoe life to us—not just to a former state, but to a greater measure than we have ever known. For our devotions for days 6 – 10, let’s deal with specific areas that, as God works His restoration, will give us that vital, blessed, rich life worth living(many of these points will be covered in greater detail in later chapters). The first is Our Freedom!
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do notlet yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1, NIV).
God longs for His people to be free from whatever chains have held them in bondage. In both the Old and New Testaments, God has proven this pattern to be so. The people of Israel, for example, cried out in agony when they were enslaved in Egypt. God heard their groanings and remembered the promises He had given to their forefathers. The rest of the book of Exodus shows the extraordinary lengths to which God will go to set His people free and to keep His promises.
Later, we see how the prophet Jeremiah was freed from captivity and given several options. “And now look, I free you this day from the chains that were on your hand. If it seems good to you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will look after you. But if it seems wrong for you to come with me to Babylon, remain here. See, all the land is before you; wherever it seems good and convenient for you to go, go there” (Jer. 40:4).
The word “free” in this passage is the Hebrew word pathach, meaning to open wide, loosen, set free, release, untie, unshackle or liberate. Through that freedom, that “pathach-ing,”Jeremiah was not only freed from the captivity he had been in, but he was then also able to make some choices and begin a whole new process in his life; shackles had been released and a new door had opened wide.
Of course the most beautiful example of freedom that directly affects each of us today was prophesied by Isaiah of the Lord Jesus,
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound” (Isa. 61:1).
Jesus releases and liberates us from the dominion of sin and restores us to aright relationship with the Father. When that happens, the hindrances ofrestoration are broken.
Sin resists freedom, but Christ delivers us into a freedom that reverses our death sentence and starts life in motion!
We must, however, recognize that we are indeed free.
I once heard the story of a dog that had been tied to a post for some years. The dog would stretch to the end of its rope and walk in circles around the post. As the years passed, the dog trod out an entrenched circular groove in the earth. Though he could see much farther, his world could only reach as far as his restraints would let him.
One day, the dog’s master decided to free him from the post. The man untied therope and watched, expecting to see the dog race off into the surrounding area and explore that which he had only been allowed to view from his restrained position. Strangely, the dog did not run or play or explore. Though his master tried to entice him away, the dog merely began to walk in the entrenched circle he had created throughout such a long period of time.
We, like the dog, are often unaware that our restraints have been removed. Even when the Lord would try to move us out into our new freedom, we may have a tendency to remain in the safety of the entrenchments we have created for ourselves. Declare that you will embrace the freedom that the Lord has provided for you – even if that means going beyond the boundaries that have seemed acceptable or comfortable in the last season.
