Freedom

I work at a retail store and the shelves are crowded with Fourth of July decorations.  Customers are stocking up on flags and stars and decorated little red trucks. I admit I’ve purchased my own little stash. There is no doubt we are longing to celebrate the idea of freedom. 

We like the idea of freedom.  We each want to do whatever we want.  We aspire to be in complete control of our own lives without hindrance.  None of us relishes being told what to do. 

I’ve struggled with the idea of spiritual freedom.  I accept the truth that Jesus has freed me from the penalty of sin which is death (Romans 8:1-4).  I believe that God did for me what I couldn’t do for myself.  I know that I can’t earn my salvation in any way by following a list of rules or laws.  That’s all good.

Confusion flooded my mind when I contemplated other scripture.  In Romans 6, Paul says, “But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God . . .” (verse 22) What?!!  Many times, I felt as if I traded in one task master for another.  I was weighed down by all the things I perceived a Christian should do like be kind, love your neighbor and help the unfortunate.  It’s not that I didn’t want to be that person, I felt cornered by the obligation to be “perfect.” Have you been there?

God doesn’t want us to feel trapped by what we read in His Word.  God sent Jesus to free His followers from fearful obedience to the Law. Jesus died to rescue us from living a life of “should:” I should be (blank); I should behave (blank).

Early in my marriage, our budget was squeaky tight.  My husband was working on his masters and we aimed to accomplish it debt free.  During that season we lived near two of my sisters.  They periodically created plans for the three of us to go and spend a day together.  My typical response was I needed to check with my spouse.  He was the one paying the bills and balancing the checkbook; I didn’t always know if there were funds available.  They were frustrated with this sequence of events, telling me I should just do whatever I wanted.  They perceived that I was being controlled. I didn’t see it that way.  I wasn’t upset about having to “check in;” I wanted to please my husband. I wanted to keep our relationship at its absolute best.  I felt the freedom to do what I wanted, and I also desired to stay within our budget.  I knew that there were boundaries that kept us living well.

Our freedom in Christ is similar; the key is to focus on relationship.  Just like I wanted our marriage to be its best, we are to prioritize our relationship with Jesus.  It’s not about what we can or cannot do, it’s about delighting the One we love.

Galatians 5:10 says, “…If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.”  Jesus leads us how to live.  We need to “check in” with Him, trust what He knows and follow His guidance.  We are to live within the boundaries that safeguard our relationship and keep us living well.

Freedom is found within the boundaries God provides.  

Our relationship with Christ evokes celebration!

A Second Piece of Cake

 

Confession: I ate a piece of cake.  It was delicious.  It made my mouth so happy; I ate a second piece of cake.  I wasn’t hungry.  I didn’t need the additional slice to give me sustenance or tie me over till my next meal.  I desired the taste, and I gave in.

Later that night, as I lay in bed, I decided the second piece wasn’t a good idea.  I didn’t feel awful, like I was going to “re-experience the cake,” but I definitely wasn’t feeling the joys of a happy and contented stomach.  God chose that moment to pose a question: In what other ways do you choose desire over need?

I didn’t want to answer the question.  Would you?

I processed through God’s question for several days.  In my cake story, I realized if I were to continually choose my desires and consistently consume seconds and thirds, my stomach would revolt.  I would pack on additional weight becoming self-conscious about my appearance.  I would find it difficult to move, possibly becoming short of breath. A new wardrobe would be in my future, but it wouldn’t come with the excitement that idea normally brings. Desire would become the driving force of unwanted circumstances.

How many times do we make a choice just because we want what we want?

•    online shopping
•     procrastinating on chores
•     watching a questionable movie or TV show
•     sleeping in and missing church
•     making fun of someone so we feel better about ourselves
•     going over budget because “it’s such a good deal”
•     avoiding someone so that we don’t have to talk to them
•     playing games on our phone instead of investing in our family

Choosing desire over need is a spiritual issue.  It’s not about what we eat, the new shoes, our appearance or finding “me time.”  It’s about Lordship. First Corinthians 6:19 & 20 says, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?  You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.  So you must honor God with your body.” (NLT) We are God’s temple, the place where a holy, perfect God dwells.  Paul clearly states that we do not belong to ourselves; we belong to God Almighty.  When we choose to live according to what we desire, we are not living within the boundaries of “you do not belong to yourself.”

Processing God’s hard question led me to a more difficult question: “Does the decision I am about to choose fit with the goal of knowing Jesus, following Jesus, and living out the truth of His Lordship?”  I admit I originally fought the idea of asking such a question over every detail of my life including second helpings of cake; then I recognized I wasn’t honoring God.

We need Jesus.  We need forgiveness.  We need God’s grace to make us holy. We need God’s wisdom and strength and direction and peace.  We need God to be Lord if we desire abundant life. I believe we need to willingly ask ourselves the hard question of Lordship, so we continue to remember we do not belong to ourselves.  When the Holy Spirit resides firmly within us, it’s a life-celebration and God provides the cake.

Autopilot

 

I remember when we first moved to the small town of Ontario from Salt Lake City.  The kids and I arrived first because school was starting.  My Pastor husband didn’t start his new job for at least a month, so every weekend we would head back to SLC.  Tim and I would pack; the kids would hang with their friends.  We traveled that road so much I began to believe the car could drive the route on autopilot.

Sometimes we live on autopilot.  It may be because we are in a good rhythm. It could be because we’re emotionally exhausted, so we just do the next thing, and the next, and the next.  There are times we are in a season of waiting and we don’t know what to do except what we’ve always done.  During times of grief, we function on autopilot because we are in survival mode.  When we are learning something new, chunks of our lives are operated automatically because our mental energies are focused elsewhere.

And let me just say: It. Is. Okay.

We just came through the season of Lent and the celebration of Easter. Somewhere in my head I perceive I should be living a utopia of exuberance due to freshly experiencing the wonder of God’s grace and hope. I’m not.  Monday came after Easter Sunday just like every other week. 

Every weekend ends and a Monday follows.  Life marches forward.  Sometimes we aren’t ready for the every-day-ness that Monday brings.  Know what I mean? In those moments do you tend to slip into autopilot and just go through the motions of life? Do you wonder why you don’t feel joy or gratefulness the way you think you should? Are you like me?

When life shifts into autopilot, we need to carve out moments to live in Psalm 27:4.

“I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking Him in His temple.” (CSB)

The Psalmist reveals 3 things we can do amid the every-day-ness of life.

1. Talk to God about your desire for Him. The Psalmist only wanted to be with God.  I know I am not always that dedicated, and I know God wants me to seek Him. Acts 17: 27 says God intended for us to seek after Him so that we could find Him.  Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness first, before anything else.
2.  Focus on how beautiful God is. When we dwell on the glory and wonder and goodness of God our thoughts and our attitudes change.  In Romans 12:2 we are told “…let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think…” (NLT) God longs for us to see life from His holy perspective.  What better way to alter how we perceive our daily life than to be focused on how glorious and wonderful and magnificent God is?
3. Seek to know God better in the company of others.  The Psalmist says he sought God in His temple.  It’s where he knew God was, and it’s where everyone else was seeking God as well.  Learning with and from others reminds us we are all on a journey, and we all have a way to go! God did not mean for us to deal with life as individuals.  He gifted us community to strengthen us and to enable us to see Him more clearly.

 

David, the author of Psalm 27, writes about fighting his enemies.  He’s experiencing significant danger in his day-to-day living.  I can’t imagine a daily life with such turmoil. Yet His declaration of certainty toward the end of Psalm 27 is what our every-day-battle longs for.  “I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.” (verse 13, CSB) On Monday, when Sunday seems like it was a month before, I want to know God’s goodness.  Don’t you?  God’s goodness can be discovered when we talk with Him, focus our thoughts on Him, and put forth the effort to learn more about Him, on our own and with others.

I’m praying you will be able to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8) when Monday rolls around again.

(photo by Salvador Godoy on Unsplash)