Liberation – December 13, 2021

The LORD . . . has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm.
Zephaniah 3:15

Liberation

It is August 25, 1944. An AP correspondent by the name of Don Whitehead has been traveling with Allied forces as they slowly drive the Nazis out of France. Now the Allies are on the outskirts of Paris. For four terrible years, the residents of Paris have been under the boot of Hitler’s tyranny. Today, however, the tyranny is over. The enemy has fled. Paris is free.

Later that day, Whitehead reports what he saw. “[W]hen the last enemy resistance crumbled…[Paris] went mad—wildly, violently mad—with happiness. All the emotions suppressed by four years of [Nazi] domination surged through the people. The streets of the city, as we entered, were like a combined Mardi Gras, Fourth of July celebration, American Legion convention and New Year’s Eve in Times Square all packed into one.”

Another reporter, who is there later writes, “[We] drove into Paris with eyes that would not stay dry, and we were no more ashamed of it than were the people who wept as they embraced us.”

That day in Paris came to be known as Liberation Day. Throughout Paris that day, there was a titanic explosion of tears, laughter, relief, and joy. Those who were there would remember it for the rest of their lives.

By nature, you and I were under the boot of an enemy as well. It was the tyranny of our own sin. There we were trapped, enslaved, imprisoned, chained hand and foot to the curse of our own impulses and rebellious desires. Left to ourselves, we would have died alone, lost, forever separated from God.

But Jesus came. The Son of God became one of us. On our behalf, he lived a life of perfect goodness. In our place, he suffered and died for our every sin. Then he rose. Through his work in our place, Jesus has turned our enemy away. Instead of fear, there is now joy. Instead of anxiety, there is now thankfulness and relief. Instead of despair, there is now a sure and living hope.

But unlike Liberation Day in Paris, our joy does not fade. In Christ, the joy of our Liberation Day lasts forever.

Prayer:
Thank you, Lord Jesus. You have set me free. Amen.