Statue of Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn
“In the year of our Lord 1314, patriots of Scotland starving and outnumbered charged the fields of Bannockburn. They fought like warrior poets. They fought like Scotsmen, and won their freedom.”
And so ends the movie Braveheart – a not-so-accurate portrayal of the Scottish fight for freedom led by William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. Don’t get me wrong, I love the movie, I just wish it was accurate.
The historical reality of the life and times of Wallace and the Bruce is quite different than how it was depicted by Hollywood, but the outcome was the same. The Scots did win their freedom from Edward II on the battle fields of Bannockburn.
In fact, on the fields of Bannockburn there stands a statue of Robert the Bruce and a memorial with this engraving on it: (Said to be the Scots rallying cry on June 24, 1314.)
“We fight not for glory, nor for wealth, nor honor, but only and alone we fight for freedom – which no good man surrenders but with his life.”
Freedom from oppression has been the rallying cry for many, many people throughout the course of human history. The Scots were willing to lay their lives down for the sake of freedom. They weren’t fighting for money, glory or honor. No, they wanted freedom. Freedom from oppression.
Someone once said that “freedom is not the license to do what you want, but the liberty to do what you ought”. Paul said that it was for freedom that Christ has set us free. We did not have to fight for and make great sacrifices to obtain our freedom. No, Jesus fought the battle for us. Perhaps that is why we so often surrender our freedom so easily.
So what is it that imprisons us? What is it that takes our freedom?
Sin. It’s sin that we can be in bondage to. We become enslaved to fear, insecurity, timidity, lust, anger, selfishness, pride, hopelessness, despair, apathy, greed, coveting, faithlessness, lying, idolatry, etc. And, it’s the lies of the enemy that we choose to believe. Of course, believing the lies of the enemy instead of the Truth of God is sin as well. By believing the lies of the enemy we do not appropriate the life that God has for us. The Truth of God actually sets of free – if we choose to believe it.
Jesus surrendered His life so that we might live in freedom. Are we willing to surrender ours to appropriate that freedom? Salvation is free. It is a gift of God that we receive by faith. Salvation is the change of our citizenship from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Following that we need to live according to the constitution of this new “Kingdom”, this new government that we are part of. We must believe the Truth of God and not the lies of the enemy. We must also wield our will well and resist temptations of the enemy, resist being enticed into all manner of disobedience to the constitution of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus calls us to surrender to Him. To surrender our life, our sin, our brokenness, our pride, our expectations, our will, our fear, our weakness, etc. so that we might live in freedom in Him. It was for freedom that Christ set us free. Free to live, free to love, free to give, free to laugh, free to rejoice – free, period. And yet we can easily surrender our true freedom by choosing sin and the lies of the enemy.
Men, let us have a similar resolve to Robert the Bruce and resist the temptation to surrender our freedom. May we fight well – wield our will well – and not so easily surrender our freedom by choosing sin and the lies of the enemy. Remember the battle cry of the Bruce; resist the temptations of this world to obtain the freedom that Jesus has for us.
Jesus paid a great price for our freedom, let us not so quickly surrender what it cost Him so dearly to obtain.
Galatians 5:1
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
John 8:31-32
“…Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
James 1:14-15
“…but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”