When Freedom Hurts

What do you think of when you think of Christ setting you free?  I think I'm beginning to realize that I usually tend to think of Him setting me free from things I don't like.  I'm only beginning to realize that sometimes He also sets us free from things that we love and care about deeply, things that may even be good, but that hinder our growth.  Those are often the things that can have the strongest grips on us and keep us in bondage merely by the fact that we don't want to leave.  Yet if we don't leave, we may not experience all that Christ has in store for us.

Sometimes we may not even have to leave.  We may just have to reach the point where we are free enough to be willing to leave and trust God with the results.  Following Him into freedom may mean letting go of something we cherish or it might make it better.  What's important to the freedom process is that fear is replaced with faith.

I love the song "Painting Pictures of Egypt" by Sara Groves.  So often, we like the Israelites, paint pictures of Egypt and leave out what it lacks as God tries to bring us into a better place.  Freedom didn't come easily for the Israelites.  They had to leave all that was familiar to them for the unknown.  All they had was what God had told them.  All they needed was that and the faith to believe it.  But they struggled and clung to the ways they knew and many of them never got to enter the Promised Land because of it.  Freedom is difficult.  How often do we hear that?  How often are people truly set free from all that hinders them from what Christ has to offer, especially the things they want to cling to?  When we reach the point where it hurts to stay but we're scared to go, will we stay and continue to be hurt or will we trust Christ and follow Him to freedom?

Making The Abstract Practical

One of my philosophy professors hates the word freedom.  He says he doesn't know what it means.  He only knows that people talk about it a lot and are willing to die for it.

Sometimes I feel the same way about words that get thrown around the Christian community like freedom and love.  We like to talk about how God has set us free.  Free from what?  What does this freedom look like?  How does it affect our everyday lives?  Is Christ setting us free a one time event or a process?  We throw around the word free and people feel good because they're free in Christ and freedom is something to be valued.  But if we never or rarely expand on what the Bible means by that, how many people will actually experience that freedom and not just a warm fuzzy feeling.

We talk about God loving us and us loving Him and others.  What is love?  Baby don' hurt me, no more.  Seriously, though, everyone comes into a sermon, article, eye. with their own concept of what love means and unless they learn otherwise, that is the definition of love they will apply.  How can we expect people to better comprehend God's love for them and to love God and others the way He commands us too if we don't also teach people the Biblical portrayal of love?  It manifests itself in visible, practical ways.  It's patient.  It's kind.  You can find a longer list in 1 Corinthians 13.  We may need to expand on some of these things from time to time, too.  

I think that if we want to see people's lives really being changed the way Gid meant for them to be, we need to move from the abstract to the practical.  I'm a philosophy major and LOVE thinking about the abstract.  But I also think there's equal value in learning how the abstract can be practical.  The freedom and love and other things God wantsto give to us are not just great ideas.  They are realities that are meant to be realized here and now in tangible ways bearing fruit.