Robert Youngs gives this illustration: I have on my table a violin string… it is free. I twist one end of it and it responds. It is free. But it is not free to do what a violin string is supposed to do–produce music. So I take it, fix it in my violin and tighten it until it is taut. Only then is it free to be a violin string. By the same token, we are free when our lives are uncommitted but not to be what we were intended to be. Real freedom is not freedom “from” but freedom “for.”

That’s a great illustration by Mr.Youngs. I would go further and say that we are not free if we are not free in Christ. You are not free if you are not fulfilling your purpose.

What is the purpose of man?

To know the purpose of every person on this earth, we have to see what our creator says about it. Micah 6:8: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

God has shown us what is good—the right way to live. God has shown us the way we should direct our lives in order to be free to be what we are meant to be. In fact God requires this of us if we are to do what is good for our lives and the greater good for those around us. The best thing we can do for those we love and care about is to find our freedom for our purpose.

Micah 6:8 tells us that God wants to do justly. To do what is right. That of course makes perfect sense. If we are going to be free we must not encumber ourselves with the burden of being a lawbreaker. Then God says we should “Love mercy.” To be free we must always be merciful to others. We don’t want to treat others with unkindness and make enemies of them. We cannot be truly free if we have an enemy. We never know when our enemy will strike back. And not only that, but God wants us to show mercy, for God knows that we need mercy ourselves. In order to be free we need mercy from time to time. We make mistakes. We say the wrong things. We do the wrong things. We need mercy in order to be free for our purpose.

Then God requires that we “walk humbly with thy God?” We cannot be free until we are walking with the one who made us. The violin is just wood and horse hair sitting in a box until it is picked up by the master and music is made.

Its purpose is fulfilled.

During this Christmas season, consider fulfilling your purpose in life. You weren’t made to sit in a box. You aren’t just skin and bones taking up space. God sent Jesus Christ to be born so that He might die for our sins. When we trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior we are free to walk humbly with our God and fulfill our purpose in this life.

Watch sermons and read sermon texts and other articles at www.tomahawkmbc.com. Listen to Pastor Jack Ward’s sermons on WSIP FM 98.9 every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Watch his sermons on his Facebook page.