Freedom in Confinement

No one likes the idea of confinement.  No one thinks, "I'd really like to see more restrictions placed upon my life."  But there is one Person who willingly accepted personal restrictions beyond anything we could ever imagine:  the Infinite, Almighty God took the form of a human being in the person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus was in a human sense free to do anything He wanted, yet He voluntarily chose to take upon Himself the form of a servant and was obedient to His Heavenly Father in everything.

Jesus is the Creator of all, for without Him nothing was made that is made (John 1:1-2).  He existed from eternity past and had previously no date of birth.  But all that changed about 2,000 years ago when He was conceived in the virgin Mary through the Holy Spirit (Is. 7:14) and was born in the city of Bethlehem (Matt. 2:5-6).  For the first time, God entered the confines of time.  God was also confined within a human body as Immanuel, God with us.  God become a human being, crying and wailing as a helpless infant after being born, wrapped in cloth, and laid in a manger (Luke 2:16).  Jesus was brought into a family where He put into practice the Law of God, and honoured His father and mother.  Though He was without sin and in Him dwelt the fullness of the Godhead (Col. 2:9), He learned obedience by the things He suffered (Heb. 5:8).

Jesus went about doing good (Acts 10:38).  He healed the sick, delivered those oppressed by unclean spirits, cleansed lepers, and raised the dead to life.  Jesus did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for sinners.  Jesus allowed Himself to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and was falsely accused of blasphemy.  He was led as a sheep to the slaughter and did not resist evil, for He walked in obedience to the will of the Father.  Think of it:  God allowed sinful men to bind him, scourge, and strip Him.  God allowed His body to be nailed to a cross and took upon Himself our sins (1 Cor. 15:3).  After the death of His body, God allowed Himself to be wrapped in graveclothes and confined in a tomb.  Glory to God in the highest, for He broke free from the bonds of death and rose glorified!

If we will repent and be born again through faith in Christ, we too can have freedom whilst being confined in these bodies.  His victory over sin and death has become our own.  Our regenerated souls long for God, drawn by His love, mercy, and grace.  It is a paradox that in confinement we can discover true freedom and salvation from within.  May we follow the example of Christ, seeking to serve and save others through the Gospel.  Thank God for His wondrous gift and the victory we have through His atoning blood! (Acts 20:28)