“So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” Galatians 5:1 What would you say freedom is?
Let’s imagine something for a minute that is going to serve as our example for this. You have to know by now that I have an imagination as large as a five-year-old. So we're imagining that there was a teenager who was given a very expensive car by their parents. All the parents requested with the special gift was that their teenager would always bring them along on the ride. They didn’t want paid back in any way, they just wanted to spend more time with their teenager. The teenager was so grateful for the gift. They began telling all their friends about it, but slowly they started to consider the possibility that they should pay their parents back in some way. After all, surely their parents would love them even more if they were able to pay them back a little bit for such an expensive gift. Right? So the teenager got a job to save up some money. They worked long hours while the special gift they’d received stayed hidden in their garage at home. They never had time to take it out on a ride anymore because they were too busy working to earn it. They were miserable because they felt like a slave to a debt that had already been paid for them, and in the end they never got to experience a ride with their parents. Would you say that this teenager was living in the freedom their parents had given them with such a selfless gift? They were free to use the gift with their parents whenever they wanted. But did they embrace that freedom? We would all be quick to say that the teenager hadn’t been living in freedom at all. They were living as a slave to a debt that their parents had already paid for them. Don’t we do the same thing, friends? I know I have. When I was fifteen, I became consumed with living out a set of rules I had placed on myself to try to be a “perfect” Christian. In a way I was trying to pay the debt that I could never pay and that Christ had already paid on my behalf. The best part? When He paid that debt on my behalf, He gave me freedom in return. Freedom to love Him. Freedom to know Him. Freedom to pursue Him wholeheartedly. But I was missing it by staying in slavery to rules that I put upon myself. And I suppose if I could tell my fifteen year old self one thing, I would start with this: Following Jesus isn’t about a list of rules you’ve created for yourself, but all about a relationship with the One who just wants your heart. I had became more like Martha in that story tucked between the text of Luke 10. Martha, who hurried around trying to do for Jesus that she completely missed out on the wonder of being with Jesus. And isn’t that what we do too when we become so consumed with the rules we give ourselves that we lose sight of the freedom Christ has given us? We become so caught up in doing all the things we think we’re supposed to do for Jesus that we forget He has set us free so we can be with Him. Yes, there are boundaries. Yes, we live differently than the world because we love Jesus. Yes, He gave us instructions in the Bible and while I know I certainly don't follow them perfectly, I strive to do my best. Not because I have to do it to earn His love and grace, but because I love Him back. Freedom is your inheritance in Christ. All He asks is that you take the ride with Him. Are you ready to pick up the keys and go for a ride?
4 Comments
Hannah Kohner
3/18/2019 06:08:08 pm
Bella this is really good!
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Sarah
3/19/2019 11:35:21 am
Totally agree!!
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Jeanette
3/19/2019 03:07:52 pm
Beautiful, thank you Bella <3 it's something I know I need to be regularly reminded of.
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Grace L
3/30/2019 11:21:37 pm
This is so good! Thank you so much for sharing, Bella!
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