Freedom Worth Dying For

Remember

Today is Memorial Day, a day to remember.

It’s more than a day off, more than barbecues and lawn games. Memorial Day exists to help us pause and reflect on something weighty: the lives of men and women who gave everything they had for the cause of freedom. Soldiers who died young. Fathers who didn’t come home. Families who sacrificed behind the scenes. Men and women who gave everything because of their convictions.

No, not every war was necessary. Not every war was just. But the men and women who stepped onto those battlefields believed they were giving their lives for something that mattered. They believed that freedom, though imperfect, fragile, and costly, was worth it.

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

That’s what Memorial Day is about. Not celebration, but remembrance. Not apathy, but gratitude. A sacred moment to acknowledge that the freedoms we enjoy were bought with blood. And something deep within us innately recognizes that this is a worthy reason to stop and reflect.

And yet, Memorial Day, like so much else in life, can point us to a deeper truth.

Because while some fought and died so that we might have political freedoms, there’s another kind of freedom that was also purchased with blood.

Born into a world at War

There’s another war, one far older and far more devastating. A war not fought with guns or modern technology, but with truth, blood, and grace. Not a war between nations, but a war between sin and righteousness. Between life and death. Between good and evil. There has never been a question as to who will win. And yet, it rages on nonetheless.

Jesus entered that war in the flesh, on our behalf.

He didn’t come to liberate a nation. He came to liberate souls, souls that would form a new and holy nation. He didn’t die to secure temporary rights. He died to secure eternal life. He wasn’t armed with a sword. He carried a cross.

“No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” (John 10:18)

Jesus gave His life to purchase a freedom no constitution can guarantee and no army can defend. He didn’t die for sins He committed. He died for ours. And in doing so, He set us free, from the penalty of sin, the power of shame, and the hopelessness of death.

“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

Bought at a Price

Somewhere within us, we instinctively know that freedom is worth fighting for. But freedom is more than the absence of oppression. It’s the space to become who we were created to be. That longing for liberty is woven into the soul because it’s rooted in God’s design. From Egypt to Calvary, the story of Scripture is the story of a God who frees people, not just from tyrants, but from a bondage we can’t see.

And yet, here’s what we often forget: freedom that is bought at a price comes with responsibility.

The moment someone dies for your freedom, you are no longer free to live as if their sacrifice meant nothing.

That’s true in this country. And it’s even more true in the Kingdom.
Those who rise and fall under the freedom that’s been purchased for them, whether through the loss of a soldier’s life or the blood of a crucified Savior, carry a sacred obligation. We are accountable for what we do with the freedom we’ve been given. In the modern world, we treat freedom like a blank check, as if the highest aim of life is to do whatever we want, whenever we want, with whomever we want. But Scripture tells a different story.

“You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:20)

We don’t get to coast through life without remembering the cost. We don’t get to use our freedom to serve ourselves and call it gratitude. We don’t get to wear the benefits of sacrifice and forget the burden behind it.

Freedom doesn’t mean doing whatever we want. It means living in a way that honors the price that was paid. It means using what we’ve been given to serve, to protect, to love, and to sacrifice for others, just as others sacrificed for us.

It Is for Freedom That Christ Has Set Us Free

There’s a phrase in Paul’s letter to the Galatians that sounds almost circular at first glance:

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” (Galatians 5:1)

But this is more than a poetic repetition. It’s a profound theological claim. Christ didn’t just rescue us from something, He rescued us for something. It was for the cause of freedom, that Jesus has set us free. So what is the cause of freedom?

Freedom in Scripture is never the same thing as autonomy. It’s not the ability to drift through life unbothered or to define truth on our own terms. In fact, the Bible is suspicious of that kind of freedom, it often leads straight back to slavery. True freedom, the kind Jesus died to give, is not the absence of boundaries but the presence of purpose.

Jesus didn’t break our chains so we could wander. He set us free so we could walk in the Spirit, so we could finally become who we were created to be. That freedom is not aimless, and it’s not passive. It is a freedom shaped by love, grounded in truth, and fueled by grace. It empowers us to resist sin, to walk in obedience, and to serve others without fear.

Paul warns the Galatians just a few verses later:

“Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13)

In other words, the freedom Christ gives is not self-serving, it’s self-giving. We are no longer slaves to sin, but we are also not masters of ourselves. We are free in Christ, which means our freedom is now tied to His mission, His heart, and His way.

You were not only freed from condemnation. You were freed for holiness.

You were not only freed from guilt. You were freed for love.

You were not only freed from judgment. You were freed for joyful, obedient communion with God.

And that means our freedom isn’t just a gift to enjoy, it’s a responsibility to carry. One that reflects the weight of the cross and the worth of the One who bore it.

Remembering Well

So today, remember the fallen. Remember the men and women who laid down their lives on battlefields across the world. Remember the price they paid so we could live with the freedoms we so easily take for granted.

But don’t stop there.

Remember the Savior. Remember the war He won, not with a weapon in His hand, but with nails in His flesh. Remember the freedom He bought, not temporary, but eternal.

And then live like someone who understands the cost.

Don’t waste the freedom that cost someone else everything.

Live for the One who died to make you free.

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