Freedom (Poem by Erica Dansereau)

“Come on,” the enemy whispers.
“No pitchfork, no horns. See?
I’m not as bad as they say,
I promise you can trust me.
I’ll show you what you’re missing:
Luxury, glory, and fame,
Everything your heart desires,
With me, it’s all fair game.
My motto goes like this,
Simply put: You do you.
But if you’d like it another way,
‘Do what thou wilt’ works too.
After all, you deserve it,
And doesn’t it sound nice?
You won’t be hurting anyone,
And I only charge a teensy price.”

Oh, my friends, don’t buy it!
It isn’t what it seems.
All the things he’s selling
Are just deceptive, wicked schemes.
That wily, sick old serpent,
How craftily he lies!
Don’t you know that Satan
Presents as an angel of light?
As cunning as he is,
He’s hungry for your soul.
He’s selling you a product
With one vile, damning goal.
It’s packaged to you as freedom,
But all you’ll find within
Are empty promises of joy
And shackles to keep you pinned.

There’s only one true freedom,
Only one true source of light.
The Lamb, the Son, our one true love,
His name is Jesus Christ.
God manifest Himself as flesh,
A man like you and me.
He came to earth a suckling babe,
Our humble, mighty king.
He grew and lived a sinless life,
No spot nor wrinkle to be found.
Though Satan tried to tempt Him,
He stood firm on solid ground.
For Jesus came to bridge the chasm
Between humans and the Father.
Something we couldn’t do ourselves,
No matter what we tried to offer.
To bridge the gap He took our place
And on the cross He bore the wrath.
By His blood that shed that day,
He made for us the perfect path.
By Him are no debts held against us,
Past, present, or future wrongs.
His righteousness wraps around us
And that freedom is our song!

Amen.