God wants His people to be free, but He has an even greater purpose for our lives than freedom: He wants us to be able to love and worship Him wholeheartedly without any hindrances. It's easy to focus on what the Israelites would be freed from (slavery in Egypt) and forget what they would be freed for: a loving, trusting, worshipful relationship with God. Even as we've just celebrated Easter, I realise that Christians today sometimes also have a tendency to focus on what Jesus freed us from (sin, death, addictions, selfish lifestyle, fear, etc) but to neglect what we were freed for: a new life in close friendship with God.
In verse 25 of Exodus 8, Pharaoh tries to negotiate a compromise: he'll allow the people to worship, but he won't let them go; they'll have to meet with God while still in the context of their slavery in Egypt. When Moses and Aaron refuse this compromise, Pharaoh is forced to concede a little more ground: he'll allow them to go to worship, but they mustn't go "too far away." (verse 28)
The enemy has lured many believers into the same sorts of compromise in the 21st century. Perhaps they're saved, but they're still slaves to bad habits or to destructive thought patterns like worry, rejection or self pity. Perhaps they've broken free of some shackles, but they haven't gone "'too far away" from their old slavery and haven't experienced the total freedom of a joyful relationship with Father God. Like Pharaoh, the kingdom that once held us captive will always try to maintain at least a partial grip on our lives. But God's goal is for us to know complete freedom to worship Him, and Easter reminds us of the price that Jesus paid to make it possible for us.
Think back on your own life over the past week. How much time have you spent enjoying the freedom of chatting to God and worshipping Him without hindrance? With the Easter celebration still so near in our memories, let's tell God this week that we want to enter into His true goal for our lives.
