Galatians 5:1-It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Freedom as defined by our culture is the complete and utter independence to do whatever it is that I feel like doing, how I feel like doing it, when I feel like doing it. Anything short of this is seen as having limitations and boundaries set upon your freedom, and that is to be avoided or minimized at all costs. Most pursuit of wealth is rooted in trying to afford this scenario. If I just had more money (power), then I could afford more “freedom” (which is most likely misunderstood desire for control) in my life.
We see this often most clearly but not exclusively in relationships of the romantic nature. People struggling to commit to another, using language within themselves that is subconscious, yet purposefully confusing, that gives us spiritual words to dress up and take away the sting of our side of the situation, namely the extreme narcissistic commitment to our “self” and “freedom.” That’s not to say that to listen to real concerns in your heart (the Holy Spirit’s work- Job 38:36) about your ability to commit to a relationship with a person aren’t valid and necessary, but to place the reason for the lack of ability to commit, squarely on some personality defect in the other, or some incompatibility difference, often times is an overstatement that keeps us from looking at where we may be at the root of the problem.
The root of anything wrong is rarely ever one thing. Our reductionistic society demands that ultimate blame be placed squarely on a singular thing. Although at times this is possible (not probable), the journey to this conclusion is rarely useful, and often times allows us to overlook where our own fault lies. As long as greater or prior fault lies with another it gives us the mental “wiggle room” to not take seriously our sin or struggle in the matter. The problem lies within our misunderstanding of the freedom that we now are “in” as Christ followers, and the difference between it, and our cultural experience of “freedom.”
Dictionary.com defines freedom as philosophically “the power to exercise choice and make decisions without constraint from within or without; autonomy; self-determination: The power to determine action without restraint. So what is true biblical freedom if not in this traditional cultural expression and definition?
“Freedom to determine our own moral standards is considered a necessity for being fully human. This oversimplifies, however. Freedom cannot be defined in strictly negative terms, as the absence of confinement or restraint. In fact, in many cases, confinement and constraint is actually a means to liberation.” Tim Keller- The Reason for God (45)
The fundamental flaw lies in the fact that we are conditioned in culture to believe that we are free to begin with in this life. Scripture tells us differently in Ephesians 2:1, “we were dead in our sins and transgressions.” And that we were “slaves to sin”, before Christ redeemed us through his blood (Romans 6). This means that we start not in a position of entitled freedom, but in helpless slavery and death, from which we need to be rescued and brought to life. It is taught to us in culture that freedom is our right, something that we are entitled to, rather than an act of grace in our lives. Consequently we have very little understanding for the heart of the freedom that has been afforded for us by Christ.
Galatians 2:20- “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
The freedom that is ours to have and experience in the gospel is one that has boundaries. Culture would say that for it to have boundaries that the freedom is thus compromised and therefore not freedom at all. Yet we see it all the time in everyday life that boundaries can actually free you, rather than confine you. Look no further than Eric Clapton to see how the limitations and focus of a musician on a single instrument gave birth to a complete freedom within those bounds. The focus brought to an area allows one to develop freedom within that specific discipline to a degree that otherwise would go undeveloped had the “restriction” not been place. Therefore the conclusion that true “freedom” can only be had with no limits is to simple. In fact I would argue that the “freedom” of no limitations and its satisfaction is but a pale reflection of the satisfaction of expressing “full freedom” in a specific area.
Friends of mine joke that I made a deal, (I guess with God?) that I could be a great recreational athlete at any sport; the only catch was I could never be good enough in any of them to succeed on any platform higher than just basic recreation. I enjoy playing almost any sport, and can say with confidence (not arrogance) I’m pretty capable at most sports I apply myself to (barring golf, at which I suck, really, really suck.) Don’t get me wrong here, being able to “hang” in a variety of sports is a luxury that I don’t take for granted, but I would trade it all to be excellent in one sport, soccer. To excel, compete, and play soccer at the level I would like, would be worth trading in all other outlets and options. I realize that in one sense this would be limiting my freedom, but in another, exploding a new more “full freedom” that’s value would surpass the simple luxury of being a recreational sport chameleon.
This is not unlike the quote from the indigo girls I stated earlier and the heart of Galatians 5:1. It is in being “bound” to Christ, in loosing (dying to) our self, that we are found to be truly free, and as apart of his creation, under his redemptive movement, finally “fully human” and alive (Ephesians 2:4-5). I can see particularly in my marriage. Although I am limited now to being married to one woman, and therefore limited physically, spiritually, emotionally, and socially with the degree to which I can interact with other women, there is a depth of relationship that has been cultivated under this restriction (healthy desirous commitment) that would never be reached without it. The question that this leaves on the table and I believe is at the heart of biblical freedom is not the lessoning of the desire for a certain thing or scenario, but the willingness to be delayed in the receiving of these things, only accepting them in the timing and will of the Father, rather than living lives marked by anxious grasping for things that we “feel” we need in order to experience the freedom we desire.
Scripture tells us clearly that we are already free (Gal. 5). That there is nothing that I can gain (or loose for that matter) that can add to or lesson the freedom that is now mine in Christ Jesus. If this is true, then we must take honest assessment of our life patterns and see that the relentless pursuit of “more” is not really a pursuit of freedom, but often a deceptive slavery that sells itself to us as something better than what we already have. Often times we “buy in” and wake up down the road enslaved to something that told us if we just had this, then we would be free.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
“If you ain’t first you’re last”- Ricky Bobby "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."-Jesus
We laugh at this statement delivered by Ricky Bobby’s (Will Ferrell) dope smoking, racecar drivin wannabe, half drunk always, absent father in the movie Talladega Nights, but the sad truth is that many of us live our day to day lives as though our actual value is more closely aligned with this thought, than with what is true about us as a result of the Gospel and what has been accomplished for us in Christ.
We laugh because we realize in our rational minds the pure lunacy of this statement. But we live in a culture that promotes an “enjoy it while your on top because you wont be there long” mentality as well as a feverish commitment to vain attempts of constantly reinventing oneself, in order to continue reclaiming that “top-spot” that you were never allowed by culture to loose in the first place. Consequently, although it goes against our better understanding and the reality of the truth, we live most days overlooking ground gained and victories lodged in our faith and life journeys simply for no other reason than we still can see someone else who’s “ahead” of us. Consequently worship and gratitude of the Lord, and his work in our lives, is replaced with self-absorption and anxiety, birthed of not being somehow “enough”.
We live in a world that is constantly measuring things. We are told that is the only way to tell if something is worth anything; only by it’s being compared up against something that’s found to be lesser. We ritualistically compare ourselves from areas that are simple to recognize such as weight and “beauty” to the more subtle and complex areas of heart, motives, actions, and the impossible to ascertain, (due to it’s non existence), “personal righteousness.”
What we are told in scripture that simplifies this are statements such as Romans 3:10 (As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one.) as well as Romans 3:22-24 (This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.)
This leaves little room for real discussions about class systems within humanity and a sense of personally being in a place of “higher worth” or “value” in the eyes of God. Our standing before him is certain, unholy and unworthy, and only in Christ are we found to, by his substitutionary effort, be able to be brought back into relationship with God, and the process of being made in to “Christ-likeness” begins (Romans 8:29). The imperative thing to understand is that not just the initiation of our relationship is in God’s hands, but the fully realized reality (sanctification to glorification) of this secure relationship is brought about by his grace as well. Our position and consequent action is one of receiving from the Lord, which gives fuel and birth (grace) to righteous living. (Hebrews 10: 14-because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.)
Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It’s God who began a good work in us. It is God who will bring it to completion. Our sanctification, although something we participate in, is wholly his work to author and perfect through the work of his son Jesus, and the indwelling Holy Spirit (Hebrews 12:2).
This allows us to put down the needless “life/spiritual yardstick” that offers an unnecessary measurement. As a result of being open handed, it frees us to be where we are, in the process that the Lord is leading, ready to receive what He has for us in this day. This open-handed, day to day approach doesn’t sit well in a “if your not first your last” society. In a culture consumed with “wining” it is tough to reconcile the words of Jesus "So the last will be first, and the first will be last. Matthew 20:16”
This statement was delivered by Jesus after he paid a man the same amount, (a days wages), as another man, even thought the first man had worked more than twice the hours. Although both men had agreed to the wage before the work, when the money got dolled out, what appeared as generosity to one man, looked as though, at the expense of injustice to another. Jesus response is profound; “don’t I have the right to do with my own money what I want?” Jesus, and His kingdom ethics, is breaking into a world already proving tethered to a “winning” mentality that takes desire and turns it into entitlement, and lives as though we “deserve”, rather than that all is an act of grace.
Jesus frees us from the “rule” of needing to be first. He gives us the freedom to love ourselves where we are, as he does, and live a life marked by receiving, rather than anxiously grasping, for value and meaning, that are only found ultimately in Him. Genesis 15:1"Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
We laugh because we realize in our rational minds the pure lunacy of this statement. But we live in a culture that promotes an “enjoy it while your on top because you wont be there long” mentality as well as a feverish commitment to vain attempts of constantly reinventing oneself, in order to continue reclaiming that “top-spot” that you were never allowed by culture to loose in the first place. Consequently, although it goes against our better understanding and the reality of the truth, we live most days overlooking ground gained and victories lodged in our faith and life journeys simply for no other reason than we still can see someone else who’s “ahead” of us. Consequently worship and gratitude of the Lord, and his work in our lives, is replaced with self-absorption and anxiety, birthed of not being somehow “enough”.
We live in a world that is constantly measuring things. We are told that is the only way to tell if something is worth anything; only by it’s being compared up against something that’s found to be lesser. We ritualistically compare ourselves from areas that are simple to recognize such as weight and “beauty” to the more subtle and complex areas of heart, motives, actions, and the impossible to ascertain, (due to it’s non existence), “personal righteousness.”
What we are told in scripture that simplifies this are statements such as Romans 3:10 (As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one.) as well as Romans 3:22-24 (This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.)
This leaves little room for real discussions about class systems within humanity and a sense of personally being in a place of “higher worth” or “value” in the eyes of God. Our standing before him is certain, unholy and unworthy, and only in Christ are we found to, by his substitutionary effort, be able to be brought back into relationship with God, and the process of being made in to “Christ-likeness” begins (Romans 8:29). The imperative thing to understand is that not just the initiation of our relationship is in God’s hands, but the fully realized reality (sanctification to glorification) of this secure relationship is brought about by his grace as well. Our position and consequent action is one of receiving from the Lord, which gives fuel and birth (grace) to righteous living. (Hebrews 10: 14-because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.)
Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It’s God who began a good work in us. It is God who will bring it to completion. Our sanctification, although something we participate in, is wholly his work to author and perfect through the work of his son Jesus, and the indwelling Holy Spirit (Hebrews 12:2).
This allows us to put down the needless “life/spiritual yardstick” that offers an unnecessary measurement. As a result of being open handed, it frees us to be where we are, in the process that the Lord is leading, ready to receive what He has for us in this day. This open-handed, day to day approach doesn’t sit well in a “if your not first your last” society. In a culture consumed with “wining” it is tough to reconcile the words of Jesus "So the last will be first, and the first will be last. Matthew 20:16”
This statement was delivered by Jesus after he paid a man the same amount, (a days wages), as another man, even thought the first man had worked more than twice the hours. Although both men had agreed to the wage before the work, when the money got dolled out, what appeared as generosity to one man, looked as though, at the expense of injustice to another. Jesus response is profound; “don’t I have the right to do with my own money what I want?” Jesus, and His kingdom ethics, is breaking into a world already proving tethered to a “winning” mentality that takes desire and turns it into entitlement, and lives as though we “deserve”, rather than that all is an act of grace.
Jesus frees us from the “rule” of needing to be first. He gives us the freedom to love ourselves where we are, as he does, and live a life marked by receiving, rather than anxiously grasping, for value and meaning, that are only found ultimately in Him. Genesis 15:1"Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
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