Sunday, July 04, 2021
Living Free
At first, he was disappointed, then angry. His trainer told him he would lose ten pounds and feel better in days. The gym had parted him from his hard-earned cash with the promise that their exercise/diet program, if properly followed, would set him free from sluggishness and obesity. He was now enduring his third day of health-food and exercise. So far he was only feeling grouchy and sore. As he and his buddy wheezed and sweated on side-by-side treadmills, he complained to his trainer, “This doesn’t feel like freedom to me!”
Two weeks later, however, he was fifteen pounds lighter, feeling better than he had in years, and he wasn’t even all that sore. He could honestly say he was living free. His buddy had quit on the fourth day, and was still complaining about being over-weight and chronically tired.
Freedom isn’t free; it takes discipline. It is often achieved counter-intuitively through self-restraint or by choosing to take the steeper path. Jesus invites people to follow Him to a place where they can live free. Jay E. Adams described that freedom like this:
The Christian is free from all other human beings. He does not have to live over against others, controlled by their actions and responses. Rather, he lives according to Christ's commands. This is Christian freedom. It is a freedom unknown by others. It is not just when others do the things that we like that we act properly toward them; we are free to do good even when they don't because our actions are not dependent on their responses. It is the Lord Christ when we serve!
It is easy to associate freedom with the ability to do whatever we want, but ultimate freedom is the ability to do the right things and to not do the things that hinder us from living free. With God’s empowerment, living free can be a reality. The Bible says it like this:
“And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death…Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.” (Romans 8:2 & 12 NLT)
Living morally and responsibly is not heavy and restricting; it is liberating. Living free can be described as living in the light. With God as coach and “empowerer,” obedient believers are blessed to live a better life. St. Paul explained, “He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,”(Colossians 1:12-13 NLT) The Psalmist testified, “I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.” (Psalms 34:4 NLT)
Those who want to rise above addictions, depression, vengefulness, and purposelessness, can simply accept God’s help and do the work of applying biblical principles in their lives. At first it may not seem to work, but eventually they will find themselves living free.
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