Freedom

They tell the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” They tell the prophets, “Don’t tell us what is right. Tell us nice things. Tell us lies. Forget all this gloom. Get off your narrow path. Stop telling us about your ‘Holy One of Israel.’” [Isaiah 30.10-11]

The thing that continues to stand out to me is that the further I travel on this journey, the more I recognize my own insufficiency. Namely, that I am so faithless concerning Jesus Christ and the full extent of freedom He has given. As I survey the message of the Bible as it pertains to my life, I find that I have two choices: 1) repent of my own faithlessness (obvious in the absence of power in my life) or, 2) determine that I am okay and God is simply a mystery (saying that all the bad stuff is His doing and that I have no responsibility in it).

Like the prophets, the Bible also makes a declaration: that Jesus Christ brings real freedom. And, like the response recorded above in Isaiah, I find that we too, rather than facing up to our inadequacies of faith, would rather hear lies - lies that keep us in bondage to the law - but satisfied that we have no responsibility in all the bad stuff.

It is no amazing thing then that Paul would address the law/grace issue today in Galatians with a comparison to the slave Hagar and the free woman Sarah. But all Paul's talk, if taken seriously, indicts us terribly because we still embrace the law.

But what about this freedom? This freedom is not a "nice thing" (as the people demanded of the prophets in Isaiah). This freedom involves faith. And faith seems to always involve power - eventual or immediate. This power changes lives, beginning with our own, and then to all around us. This power is above the law... and here's the good part... this power is Christ in us - and the law is of no significance to Him. There is no reason for the law... unless we would rather hear "nice things" and that we are okay...

Freedom carries responsibility. But that responsibility is NOT obedience to the law! It is rather obedience to the power of faith - Christ in us... Easy? No. Not at all - Faith comes from the Word of God... something most of us do not take the time to allow to embrace us (let alone us embrace it). Frankly, Christians (true believers) do not have time to worry with the law! The journey of faith in Christ is a lifelong endeavor all by itself. And that journey of faith is a "high road" compared to simply trying to be good enough...

Father, my ramblings here are genuine - You know my heart. You know my desire to walk in real - even tangible - faith. I am striving for that freedom - true authentic freedom - that which is in Jesus and Him alone. And my challenge is in opening myself to Your Word - in reading it, in responding to it as I have here, and in relating it to others... Thank You for Your Word... thank You for Jesus!