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Program Notes or Transcript

Do you believe that life in Christ brings freedom? Well, Jesus himself said, “If the SON sets you free, you will be free indeed.” But the price of freedom is never cheap, and the process is never easy. Hi, this is Doug Flemming and you’re listening to “Take Five,” a production of the Church of the Nazarene. A friend of mine from Bangalore, sent me a story that perfectly describes the process of freedom.  A man found a butterfly’s cocoon. He watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through a little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it could go no further…So, the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily.

But, it had a swollen body, and small shriveled wings. And to the man’s disappointment the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly.

What he had done to free the butterfly actually grounded the creature for life. You see, the cocoon and the struggle required to get through the tiny opening are God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight ONCE it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as we could have been…..And we could never fly as God intends us to.

Today’s Music: Freedom’s Never Free, Phillips, Craig and Dean

Just like the butterfly’s cocoon, God gives us the way to freedom. Christ is that way. In order to obtain freedom in Christ, we must humble ourselves, acknowledge our weakness, accept the work of Christ….then deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Christ. When we choose to follow Christ, there will be times of struggle and difficulty. But through the process, we will experience the kind of freedom that God intends for us. May God bless you and keep you flying free.