Freedom or a Life of Rule-following?
We teach the middle school class at church. I'm pretty sure we are the only people in our whole church who enjoy middle schoolers enough to willingly teach them each week. I love them. They are young enough to be moldable and yet old enough to appreciate sarcasm. We have been talking about embracing who God has designed us to be. Today's lesson had us discussing the idea of the freedom we experience through Christ. Think Galatians 5:1 style freedom (It is for freedom that Christ has set us free; stand firm then and do not be burdened again by a yoke of slavery). I asked the students this morning if they think Christianity really means you are free and most of them thought the answer was "no". One or two said "Well, we're free from sin, but not free to do whatever we want. There are still a lot of rules to follow."
I find myself disheartened by their answer. Have we done such a poor job of teaching them about freedom in Christ that all they see are the rules we expect them to follow? There is truth to what the students said, if you want to look at it from a glass-half-empty standpoint. As Christians, Christ has called us to live a different kind of life from what we lived before. He calls us to be "born again" into a new way of living. Yes, that means we shouldn't drink (at least not excessively) and we shouldn't have sex outside of marriage. We shouldn't gossip or lie or cheat or do a whole host of other behaviors that are ultimately harmful to us and our relationships. I suppose a lot of people might look at that and feel like they're giving up something enjoyable in order to live this new, different life to which Christ is calling them.
I, however, have a glass-half-full approach to this concept of freedom. Christ has given me freedom to choose a relationship with Him. I chose it and that means I am choosing to live a different life. But, I don't feel like I'm being asked to give up any freedoms by choosing Christ. I don't want to be yoked to addiction, so I don't make alcohol consumption a habit (although, in the interest of full disclosure, I am prone to imbibe in the rare drink on special occasions like weddings). I don't smoke, I'm not friends with Mary Jane, and I never plan to "experiment" with drugs. I've seen the effects of substance abuse in people around me and addicts are definitely not free. They are the epitome of the kind of slavery described by Gal. 5:1. Same goes for sex. Why would I trade a healthy, loving, secure relationship with my husband for the temporary pleasure I might gain from sex with someone else? One of the best choices I have made in my whole life is to wait for Joe. I have no regrets, no guilt and no comparisons to cloud my heart as I relate to my husband in marriage. I know plenty of people who suffer with silent pain of regret from the choices they made with their bodies. They are languishing in a prison -- all because they used their so-called freedom to choose something different from what God had chosen for them.
What freedoms do you feel you have given up as a Christian? Are you REALLY missing out? A better question might be: What abundance in Christ are you missing out on because you haven't given yourself 100% to a relationship with God? Does He have a better plan for how your life could go if you chose live it with Him? Is God really asking you to give up something good....or is He offering you something infinitely better?
I find myself disheartened by their answer. Have we done such a poor job of teaching them about freedom in Christ that all they see are the rules we expect them to follow? There is truth to what the students said, if you want to look at it from a glass-half-empty standpoint. As Christians, Christ has called us to live a different kind of life from what we lived before. He calls us to be "born again" into a new way of living. Yes, that means we shouldn't drink (at least not excessively) and we shouldn't have sex outside of marriage. We shouldn't gossip or lie or cheat or do a whole host of other behaviors that are ultimately harmful to us and our relationships. I suppose a lot of people might look at that and feel like they're giving up something enjoyable in order to live this new, different life to which Christ is calling them.
I, however, have a glass-half-full approach to this concept of freedom. Christ has given me freedom to choose a relationship with Him. I chose it and that means I am choosing to live a different life. But, I don't feel like I'm being asked to give up any freedoms by choosing Christ. I don't want to be yoked to addiction, so I don't make alcohol consumption a habit (although, in the interest of full disclosure, I am prone to imbibe in the rare drink on special occasions like weddings). I don't smoke, I'm not friends with Mary Jane, and I never plan to "experiment" with drugs. I've seen the effects of substance abuse in people around me and addicts are definitely not free. They are the epitome of the kind of slavery described by Gal. 5:1. Same goes for sex. Why would I trade a healthy, loving, secure relationship with my husband for the temporary pleasure I might gain from sex with someone else? One of the best choices I have made in my whole life is to wait for Joe. I have no regrets, no guilt and no comparisons to cloud my heart as I relate to my husband in marriage. I know plenty of people who suffer with silent pain of regret from the choices they made with their bodies. They are languishing in a prison -- all because they used their so-called freedom to choose something different from what God had chosen for them.
What freedoms do you feel you have given up as a Christian? Are you REALLY missing out? A better question might be: What abundance in Christ are you missing out on because you haven't given yourself 100% to a relationship with God? Does He have a better plan for how your life could go if you chose live it with Him? Is God really asking you to give up something good....or is He offering you something infinitely better?
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