Years ago, I tried to find a theology that would fit the lifestyle that I was living. So I searched. And I manipulated. And I clung to quotes like this:
“You are really and truly and completely free.
There is no kicker. There is no if, and, or but. You are free. You can
do it right or wrong. You can obey or disobey. You can run from Christ
or run to Christ. You can choose to become a faithful Christian or an
unfaithful Christian. You can cry, cuss, and spit, or laugh, sing, and
dance. You can read a novel or the Bible. You can watch television or
pray. You're free...really free.” -Steve Brown
And yes, that quote does have some truth in it. I really am free.
But my freedom does not, in any way, give me a license to sin.
(Romans 6)
But that is what I did. Because that is how I could twist that verse to make it fit my lifestyle. But I was oh-so-wrong. My life is meant to be adjusted to what scripture teaches, not the other way around.
I am truly free, but genuinely being IN CHRIST, I don't want to do anything that doesn't please my Father.
Being free means being free to serve, obey, and love him.
Being free means being free to NOT live for this world and all of its demands.
Being free means being set free from myself.
And that is something to rejoice in. I am not far removed from the lifestyle of drugs and alcohol. I am not far removed from being on the throne of my own life. I am learning to live in this world and not OF this world.
And this is brand new to me. Just to be real honest...it is, more often than not, about me in my little world.
I need instruction. I need discipleship. And by the grace of God, I am surrounded by people that count it a privilege to help others know The Lord. People whose life is about God's glory and about others knowing him. People who have experienced this freedom, and make it their life's aim to share it with others.
I need instruction. I need discipleship. And by the grace of God, I am surrounded by people that count it a privilege to help others know The Lord. People whose life is about God's glory and about others knowing him. People who have experienced this freedom, and make it their life's aim to share it with others.
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery"
Galatians 5:1
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