Hosanna

by Pastor James Bell

Bob Hamp, one of the ministers at Gateway Church, recounts a story about the time he was a parole officer in a small West Texas town. In his book, Think Differently – Live Differently, Bob tells of a distraught mom as she was nervously asking about the restrictions to be placed on her under-aged son, who was convicted of car theft and using stolen credit cards. The boy had left West Texas and headed to Florida, leaving a trail of stolen credit card usage. She just couldn’t believe her son had done these things, but he was caught red-handed and admitted everything.

Attempting to get a little more information about the situation, Bob asked the boy’s mom, “Why did he go to Florida? Is there family in Florida? Maybe a girlfriend?” The mother replied, “No, we don’t know anyone there.” She paused, and then spoke of her trip from West Texas to Florida to pick her son up after his arrest, offering this explanation:

“Freedom. He went for freedom. The further I traveled, it was as if I was leaving behind every care and every difficulty. The more I drove, the more I considered joining him, because life just seemed easier in front of me than it did behind me.”

I’ve been to Florida a few times myself, so I can easily understand what a wonderful change of scenery the white sands and blue water must have been for this young man. Nothing like the sleepy, dry, dust-blown little town he knew so well. But it wasn’t freedom. At least, not for long. An alert service station cashier phoned the police, and a short time later the boy was gazing at the walls of a jail cell.

Do you ever feel the need to escape? Lots of folks think a new city, a new job, often a new church, and sometimes even a new spouse, will bring freedom into their lives. Then they get to their “Florida” (whatever and wherever that may be) and reality slaps them in the face. Hard. Accountability, along with those “sins that so easily beset us” will follow us wherever we go. After a few glorious hours of feeling free as a soft, gulf coast breeze, that young man paid a price of humiliation and regret. Florida has laws, too. Florida has officers who administer those laws. It wasn’t really freedom, it was just Florida!

If you are looking for an escape route from the life you are living, consider the offer Jesus makes to all of us. He will change you from the inside out and give you joy and peace that the world can only imitate. There are places everywhere that people have gone to find freedom. New York, L.A., and lots more are filled with disappointed freedom seekers. But beautiful, sunny Florida makes a great metaphor for my message to you. Instead of plotting your escape, find out about overcoming instead!

My prayer is that you’ll never find yourself in a faraway place mumbling something that could be metaphorically stated as, “This ain’t freedom. It’s just Florida!”

Peace,

James

Tags: Disappointment, Escape, Freedom, Joy, Sin

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