What is freedom? The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants. Freedom means being free to choose, but every action or choice we make will have a consequence that might be good or bad, depending on the nature of the choice made. The outcome of our choices dictates our future. If the outcome is good and favorable, then we will be happy and satisfied. Otherwise, we may feel sadness and depression.True freedom means being free to choose, which gives positive consequences that uplift our life, rather than putting our life in bondage. In other words, true freedom is the one that brings pure happiness and peace. Having freedom alone does not mean we will be happy and satisfied, as we all have the freedom to choose many things in life and may face bad consequences that put our life under bondage and suffering. Let us see from the very beginning how this works and what the remedy is to be truly free with joy and peace. In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve. They had free will, but did they have true freedom? They did not know of good and evil as God himself confirmed it by saying:

Genesis 3: And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.”

I assume they were in a state of bliss and ignorance. In today's world, we say “Ignorance is bliss”. Their awareness was only about God and his creations in existence. They were so ignorant that they did not know of nakedness, even though they were naked. They had no knowledge of freedom or goodness, as it requires knowing the other side of those things to understand the meaning. Till the fall of mankind, there was no actual necessity to know the evil side, as man was in a state of ignorance, like a child who didn't know what is good and bad, but the fall of mankind began from evil as death, which is a separation of God and man. For example,

• Without darkness, there is no light.
• Without evil, there is no goodness.
• Without law, there is no grace.
• Without sin, there is no forgiveness.
• Without work, there is no rest.

No wonder the scripture says, Romans 8: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are they called according to his purpose. We need understanding on all things (good and evil) that work together for good when it relates to people who choose God. This is how God designed it to fulfill his eternal plan. There is no hero without a villain, so Satan turned against God, and his ways are always against God and his ways. Satan is not a creator, but a manipulator. God wanted Adam to trust his words and obey him, but Satan made Adam distrust God and disobey. God introduced selflessness, love, and grace. Satan introduced selfishness, fear, and torment. Sin introduced death. Grace introduced rebirth and resurrection. Sin separates. Grace unifies. Law made us understand that we are sinners, and sin gives life to judgment, which results in death. So God introduced sacrifice as a way out of this eternal bondage. This is the main reason God chased Adam out of the garden before he tried to eat from the tree of life and live an eternal life under a curse. Sacrifice leads to a new start and made us understand we need help. We need a saviour.

2 Corinthians 5: This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
2 Corinthians 5: This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

In the above chain of events, how can we experience true freedom and happiness? What is true freedom? Is free will true freedom? I don’t think so, because it is the reason for the fall of humanity. Then what is free will? Free will is the power of choice, but choices come with consequences, both good and evil. Choices always come with “terms and conditions.” How can there be freedom with “terms and conditions,” because with choice, there is always bondage? God said, “You can eat any fruit except one,” there goes the condition. Then what is true freedom? True freedom is having the power of choice, and the choices should have only good consequences. This is impossible. How can we expect good to happen if we choose something bad? If things worked like that, it would destroy the true balance of life. How can we ever experience true freedom? Why did God make it this way? Yet we know nothing bad comes from God. And all things work together for good to those who love God. Hence, I conclude that true freedom is life without choices. But how can that be possible? How can we live without making any choices? We make our life with a series of choices. True freedom is making the right choices all the time. Is this even possible for a fallen human mind? I don’t think so, because we already learned that we are sinners by the law. Then, how can we achieve this? Only God can make such choices. Yes, that is right, only God can. He cannot sin or make bad choices, which makes him God. But can God make choices for you and me? Yes, if we allow him to represent our lives. It's the same as placing someone or something in our place for sacrifice to get free from judgment. Therefore, God offers himself as a sacrifice on the cross on behalf of the entire humanity’s sin through his Son Jesus and gave us freedom as a gift. The way humanity fell down with that one choice of disobeying God, the same way, we make that one choice of complete surrender to God, allowing God to take our place to deal with everything. Now we need not worry about anything. We will be free from consequences, just as we are free from judgment.

True submission gives true freedom. Oneness with God gives true freedom. Submission to God results in replacing our consciousness with God. God becomes our consciousness. If God himself becomes our awareness or consciousness, how can we make wrong choices? We are no longer responsible for our future, just like the sheep that never have to worry about anything, but the shepherds do. Sheep need to eat, sleep, and enjoy their existence because it is the shepherd's responsibility to take care of them. That's why scripture calls God's people his sheep. In reality, sheep will not survive without a shepherd. Therefore, the scripture says:

Psalm 23: The Lord is my Shepherd; I have all that I need. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters; he refreshes my soul; he guides me along the right path.

John 10: I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and they know me.

Psalm 37: Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

The constant thoughts or desires in our consciousness will manifest in our lives. If you don’t believe it, look back at your life. You will find evidence that all the things you have are a by- product of your thoughts and desires first. The Old Testament scripture in Joshua 1 states that we should keep the Book of the Law on our lips, meditate on it day and night, and be careful to do everything written in it. This leads to prosperity and success under the Law. However, after Christ took our place as a sacrifice to defeat death and judgment, things changed. It is now better than before. Instead of God being outside of us and his words being inside through the Law, He now lives inside us and becomes one with us through grace. We now believe in one thing from which all other things come from, and we make one choice of choosing Jesus as our sacrifice, which gives us one consequence of God being one with us. Through faith and belief in Christ, God lives in us. We become one with Him through Jesus.

Galatians 2 states, I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but He who lives in me."

This is God becoming our consciousness through Jesus. Jesus is mentioned as a door in Scripture, a door that helps us go to heaven and brings heaven down to earth. John 10 states,

I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved."
Matt 18 also states, "Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

True freedom comes by making a choice to submit to God. He becomes our consciousness and gives us desires. He will make our choices, and we can be free from everything.