An Unexpected Sort of Freedom

2 Corinthians 3:17 The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Some people think that becoming a Christian means losing your freedom. What do you think?

On the one hand there are, without doubt, things that God tells you not to do. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t lie. Don’t steal. Don’t stir up tensions and promote arguments. Don’t be proud. Don’t this … and don’t that.

So, yes, at first glance it can appear as though being “a Christian” is restrictive. It can appear that being “a Christian” is a bit like living in a straightjacket.

But let me paint you a picture of an unexpected freedom. Back when I was single, I had the liberty to date single women, something I didn’t do a lot of, but that freedom was there. I could come and go as I pleased. Some would call that the freedom of being single and, of course, it is.

But now that I’m married – and have been, very happily, for a good many years – those freedoms are curtailed. I can’t go out with other women (not that I want to, but I can’t, you understand). I can no longer come and go as I please. It’s not just me now, it’s us, husband and wife. So, quite obviously, I’m no longer free to do those other things.

And yet, the freedom that I have in marriage for intimacy and sharing my life with my wife, is far greater than the sum of all the other freedoms that I had before.

Some people think that becoming a Christian is about losing your freedom. And sure, there are things that Jesus calls you to give up. Not a lot mind you, just the things that are wrong; the things that’ll hurt you and others. But in return for giving those things up, you get a much greater form of freedom. An unexpected freedom if you will:

The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17)

The freedom you gain by surrendering your life to God, by accepting His rights and wrongs, is this unexpected freedom of the intimacy of knowing God Himself, personally, deeply. So … it’s no longer just you or me living our lives, but it’s Christ Himself who lives in us and through us.

And that freedom is a freedom that in God’s eyes, is worth dying for.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

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