Freedom
What does it mean to live in freedom? I loved the question the kid in religion class asked him! And I have a hunch that the kid was thinking more about rules about what was allowed and what was not allowed than about the big questions in life! (At the Christian high school I went to, we weren’t allowed to have dances, officially…)
These are questions of external rules (legalism) vs. making decisions based on my conscience. And I have a hunch we will revisit the topic of legalism in future days…
Neil had a great definition of freedom: It means you are finally free to live a responsible, moral life… We’re out of the realm of what might be okay and what might not be, and into the big questions. What’s responsible? What’s moral?
There’s a line between kid and adult. Remember high school? Remember graduation? It may not be in the same place for every person, but basically, the issue is this: now that society considers you an adult (more or less), are you ready to act like one? You don’t necessarily have the constraints of a family to mandate that you act responsibly, and you no longer have your parents to do so (at least, they should back off by this point). Whatcha gonna do?
In the course of finding our way, many of us in those years made mistakes (and watched as friends went off the deep end), but eventually, we found our way toward responsible adulthood.
Spiritually, we must come to the same place – where we are willing to set aside the choices that we might be allowed to make because of freedom, but ironically, lead to bondage.
What does it mean to live in freedom is a huge question. I feel like that kid sometimes, especially when I was younger, “does your church have a lot of don’ts”. Church can feel like that at first until you realize the more you want to know God and please Him the more you want to follow His Spirit and not follow what lead you into bondage to begin with.
ReplyDeleteAs Michele pointed out we all need to find our own way at some point. At first it is hard and we make a lot of mistakes (I know I did). Keep your eye on the goal and pick yourself up again. I am free to do things my way and I am free to do things God’s way.
I pray I will always hear and listen to God’s voice and direction in my life. That is the freedom I want.