Free to Love
December 2, 2008
Galatians 5:1, It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery.
Rebellion ran through me battling the drugs and alcohol for space within my veins, about the time I hit high school. When I was 15, I just wanted to be 16. Then, when I finally turned 16, I could barely wait for 18. Even at 18 years old, I longed to turn 21. I honestly thought more freedom would come with every passing mild-stone. Freedom from what though, I ask now. The more I distanced myself from church, family, and even my friends, the more independence I thought I could manifest. In the end, my “freedoms” actually owned me. Giving into a life of free will, I caused myself pain over and over again. Trapped in bondage, I was a slave to my sin. Freedom is not something one can cultivate on their own; only by surrendering to Christ can you truly be set free. My rebellion and failures help me to see this, only now that He has freed me from my own chains.
As I ponder Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit, I wonder if we are rebellious by nature. Reading the Gospels tell of Jesus shaking things up, I smile to think we are created in His image. My rebellion led me down a dangerous road though. Hind-sight shows me that my free will did not set me free, it actually imprisoned me. By surrendering my will to God I am free to love, I’m free to forgive, I’m free to honor and to respect. Through love and grace I am boundless and without limits.
I’m starting a new rebellion, or joining one, I should say. I’m rebelling against the things of this world that bind me to it. With Christ as my safety net, I take a leap of faith off the rope of independence I once tried to balance upon. His will in me leads me to a new form of autonomy in which I am never alone, trapped in sorrow, bound by hate, or lost in fear.
Galatians 5:13, For you have been called to live in freedom— not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love.
December 2, 2008 at 11:43 pm
I’ll join you in your new rebellion. Some of the stuff has already been taken. I thought I’d miss it more than I do. Maybe God is right after all.”Only a few things are necessary really only one.” “He is more than enough”