Here in the United States we often talk about freedom. According to the Oxford Dictionary freedom is “The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants.“ (en.oxforddictionaries.com) “As one wants” in the U.S. generally means without regard to others or God. If it is within the laws of the U.S. then people state that they have the right to do it. And if it isn’t within the law and they still want to do it, then they determine that the law is wrong and demand that it be changed. Our nation now is not unlike the Old Testament book of Judges where “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Perhaps you will agree with me that a good look at the current situation reveals that this isn’t freedom, It’s chaos. The national consciousness is shaped around the idea that each person should be free to do whatever they want, whenever they want with whomever they want. Each person determines whatever they believe is “right” for them.
As Christans we often talk about freedom as well. We say that we are free in Christ. Is Christian freedom “the power or right to act speak, or think as one wants?” Well...yes, but no. The New Testament often refers to the freedom we have in Christ. When the apostle Paul refers to our freedom in his letters does he mean we should be able to do whatever we want? In I Corinthians 10 he writes about not using our freedom to cause another to stumble. Peter also writes “Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.”(1 Peter 2:16 ) That doesn’t sound like the right to do as one wants. So then what is our freedom in Christ all about?
I remember a long walk I took way back in 1986. Why would I remember one walk from more than thirty years ago? Because on that walk I was grappling with God about freedom, my freedom. I knew that there was a good chance that I was going to marry Tom Zahradnik and bellieved it was God’s plan for me to do so. As I considered that future, I realized that there were some dreams I was going to have to release, things I envisioned myself doing that marriage would limit. Not only that, but once I said yes to marrying Tom then all other options were off the table. Exclusivity is part of the marriage package. I understood that I would not be able to go when I wanted to go and do what I wanted to do because my life would be permanently intertwined with another life. I grappled with the truth that marriage would require relinquishing some freedom and I wasn’t sure that I was ready to do that. As I thought through all of this with God a phrase from Psalm 16 suddenlly became a loud thought, “The boundaries have fallen for me in pleasant places.” As I pondered that verse in the context of marrying Tom it helped me realize that even though marriage would put some boundaries around me, and limit the freedom that was mine as a single person, those limits would add to my happiness rather than detract from it. Life within those limits would be good even though I had to give up some of my power to act as I wanted. Pleasant places. Beautiful boundaries.
The reality is that within the beautiful boundaries of my marriage I have been free to become the me that God designed me to be. God has used Tom to shape me and to help me grow. Tom has encouraged me and challenged me in the best possible ways. Because of who Tom is I have been able to go places and do things I never would have imagined on my own. “The boundaries have fallen for me in pleasant places.”
Appreciating the beautiful boundaries of my marriage helps me to understand freedom in Christ. In Christ I am free FROM sin. I find myself able to live within the good boundaries that God’s laws set for me. I find myself flourishing within those limits. Sure, I can’t do whatever I want whenever I want, because what I want is often contrary to God’s laws. Jesus said that God’s laws are summed up in loving God and loving people (Mark 12: 29-31). Somehow we think that those boundaries keep us from being truly satisfied so we explore outside them in the “pursuit of happiness.” The truth is that often what I want is self-centerted and self-satisfying at someone else’s expense. But in Christ I have the ability, the freedom, to see that blessing others is a better way to live and I have the ability to choose it. Freedom in Christ means that as I use my freedom to choose I am progressively transforming from a selfish being into a Christlike being who willingly sacrifices self for the benefit of others. That transformation, slow and painful as it sometimes is, brings me greater satisfiaction than the power to do, think and act as I want. There is peace and fulfillment within those beautiful boundaries.
I invite you into that kind of freedom today. Come inside His beautiful boundaries and say YES to His pleasant place of freedom. Sin is self serving and not satisfiying in the end. Free to do what pleases God and blesses others. That is satisfying.
Key thought: True freedom is within beautiful boundaries.
A Scripture to consider:
“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” Romans 6:22 NIV
A YES challenge: Ask God to show you what His boundaries look like in your life. As you begin to recognize them take time to thank God and ask Him to show you how to flourish within them.
Prayer:
Father, I haven’t always been grateful for the boundaries you have placed around me. There are times I want to do what I want to do and I forget that I have the freedom to choose differently because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Help me learn to find my fulfillment and satisfaction within the limits You have set. I thank You that I have freedom to choose life in You. Amen.