Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Of Freedom


Freedom never comes through disobedience. – Beth Moore, “Psalms of Ascent” study

In a few weeks, America is going to have a party. Independence Day, the Fourth of July, will be filled with fireworks, people getting a day off of work, and red, white, and blue decorations. We’ll have barbecues, ice cream, and a hole in our pockets where our money used to be.

We’ll celebrate our freedom, remember our soldiers, and maybe even take a swim in the lake.

But what would Independence Day look like without rules, without consequence? What if everyone stole the fireworks instead of paid for them? What if driving while intoxicated was legal? What if our FDA regulations were not in place regarding the food in our grocery stores?

We have freedom, right? But we have to follow the rules. We have freedom, but there are consequences for breaking the law. These laws were put into place to keep us safe, to keep us from harm. But we are free.

Right?

Then why is it so different when we look at God’s rules? We have freedom in following God’s laws – do not commit adultery, do not steal, honor your parents, love your neighbor. His laws are in place, but we often seem to think that God’s laws, which were put into place to give us freedom, actually hinder our freedom.

If we live in a country where we celebrate our freedom that is based on rules and laws, why would we believe different about our Father’s rules? Man is imperfect; God is not.

I know several agnostics, atheists, and people who generally believe that the Easter-Christmas church visits will somehow get them into heaven. I know people who go to church on Sunday but forget the sermon before they’re out of the parking lot or choose to ignore it because it doesn’t fit in with their lifestyle. I know this because I’ve been that person more than I care to admit.

We can’t pick and choose what we want to believe in, if we choose to believe in the Bible. Our pastor made a fantastic point in church this Sunday when he started his sermon series on Jonah – “When I taught seminary, as I got to the book of Jonah, a lot of students had read scholars who have said that Jonah should not be taken literally. It should be read as a cautionary tale. They don’t believe that there was a prophet named Jonah who was swallowed by a whale and then tossed back up. I, then, would ask them, ‘Do you believe that Jesus died on a cross and rose from the dead three days later? Then why is the story of Jonah so fantastic and unbelievable?’”

We can’t decide that one of God’s laws in the New Covenant (Hebrews 12:24) applies to us and then the other doesn’t. In our country, we can’t decide that stealing is okay but speeding is not.

We have freedom in our country, and we have freedom in God. The rules are in place for our protection and safety. Why is that so difficult to believe?

6 comments:

Mari said...

Well said! I have nothing to add, except that The Beth Moore quote is one that makes you think!

Anonymous said...

i love it when you share like this!!!!

Brooke said...

I've made a similar point re: the literal nature of the old testament to Jay before. I don't know if its literal or poetry. Either way I can get the point of why its scripture. Why should it matter to my faith how exactly the world was created beyond God being the Master builder?

Accepting that God could love me and send His son to die for me is far more of a stretch than how He did the whole dinosaur thing.

Brooke said...

ps - i was a little paranoid you misunderstood my post and wrote this as a reaction to it. until i noticed you posted this way before me.

me = self-absorbed much?

Penny said...

Lol, Brooke you crack me up. And don't worry, I completely understood. =)

Lauren Delaine said...

Beautiful post!!!!