A 1963 Oldsmobile Ninety-eight sedan. Light blue. It was the old family car. When I was sixteen years old, it became mine. The best hand-me-down ever. Do you think I cared that it was 8 years old and very used? It was mine, and it worked, most of the time.
It got me to school and other places. To me, it was like driving the newest luxury car. Power windows. Electric clock. Power antenna. Air conditioning. Power steering. Two-speed windshield wipers. Satellite Radio, oh wait, that wasn’t invented yet. But it did have push-button AM radio.
It was mine, and it got me where I needed to go. One of my favorite songs by The Beatles is, “Ticket to Ride.” Well now, I had my own ticket to ride. My ticket to ride to school, to debate practice, to church, to the 7-11, to Boy Scouts, to Raccoon Records, even to run errands for my parents. I didn’t have an overly-exciting adolescence, but I had my Oldsmobile Ninety-eight!
The feeling of freedom is such an empowering thing. It really is. When we are a teenager we think we find that freedom in such fleeting things like a car. When we are an adult, we think we find that freedom in wealth or power. But we eventually find out that real freedom is not found there.
When it is all said and done, real freedom is found in the Lord. It is found in the One who said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32)