freedom – Far More Life

…some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves (Galatians 2:4, NIV)

Many people think Christianity is a bunch of rules and restrictions. Perhaps this comes from the familiarity of the 10 “Thou shalt…” and “Thou shalt not…” Commandments of the Old Testament. It might be reinforced when people say, “I cannot do that because I am a Christian.” And there are certainly people who identify as Christians telling others what behavior is acceptable and unacceptable.

But authentic Christianity — which leads to far more life — is based on freedom. Freedom from the power and penalty of sin. Freedom to love God and love others. Freedom to admit weakness and wrongdoing as well as freedom to grow and change every single day.

People in Old Testament times did not have this freedom, instead they lived under a system of rules and restrictions. Spiritually speaking they were like young children; they needed clear expectations about right and wrong because they did not have the spiritual maturity to make the distinction. They did not have a personal relationship with God or the help of the Holy Spirit to guide them moment by moment. So the rules and restrictions were put in place so they knew what was required for maintaining a righteous standing before God.

But Jesus ushered in a new system of righteousness, built on freedom rather than rules. Through His death and resurrection, we can be forgiven of all our sins — past, present, and future — and have a permanent righteous standing before God.

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:22-24, NIV)

When Jesus was asked which of the Old Testament laws were most important, He gave a response that pointed us toward the freedom He offered:

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:29-31, NIV)

Jesus summed up all the Old Testament rules and restrictions with this two-part principle: love God and love others. The New Testament is filled with instructions and examples that tell us what this looks like in action (Romans 8 & 12, Colossians 3, I Peter 3). When God’s rules were broken, the people lost His favor until a sacrifice was offered (Leviticus 9). But, with Jesus, our position with Him is secure even when we ignore or rebel against His principles (Hebrews 9:24-28). I appreciate this principle laid out for us about our freedom in Christ:

Everything is permissible for me, but not all things are beneficial. (I Corinthians 6:12, AMP)

God created us with free will, meaning that we have the desire and freedom to make choices. This is apparent from a young age; even toddlers find ways to communicate what they want! Although God gives us choices, not all choices are equal. He has defined some as sinful and others as righteous to help us understand which are best for us and glorify Him. With freedom comes the responsibility to accept the consequences of our choices. God’s design is that righteous choices lead to far more life while sinful ones lead to pain and loss. Sometimes sin looks like the better choice for the moment, and we use our freedom to choose it. But it always leads to pain and loss, whether that is evident immediately or years later. God loves us enough to let us make our own choices, just as human parents love their children enough to give them choices. And He remains faithful to His children, no matter how many sinful choices we make.

One beautiful part of getting to know God — and growing in far more life — is that we want to choose what He defines as right and good. As we grow in love for Him, our desire to choose what will please Him also grows. And as we choose what He says is best, we find that we are happier and more fulfilled, which leads us to use our freedom to keep loving Him and others. Live in freedom today as you pursue far more life!

Sisters,
Are you living under rules and restriction or freedom?
Have you accepted Jesus’ offer to pay the penalty for your sin against God? If not, what is holding you back?
What Biblical instruction has helped you grow in loving God and loving others?
What habits or choices have you found are not beneficial to your life? What do you need to change them?
Thank God for the freedom to pursue far more life through a secure relationship with Him!
-Shari

As we journey through life, we encounter hurt and disappointment. What do we do with this? Some of us give it right back, wanting to get even. Others withdraw or build walls to protect themselves. Some ignore it, hoping it will go away. Others replay it over and over in their minds, seeking to understand and learn from it. Some cover it with humor or activity to minimize the pain. Some bury it deep inside and try to forget it ever happened.

These responses may enable us to feel better temporarily, but none resolve the hurt. Sooner or later unresolved hurt becomes baggage that restricts us from experiencing far more life.

How can we unpack the hurt in a healthy way and move forward unencumbered?

^“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.“ (Colossians 3:13, NIV)

Forgive. As the Lord forgave you. What does God’s forgiveness look like?

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12, NIV)
“Then he adds, ‘I will no longer hold their sins and their disobedience against them.’ When sins are forgiven, there is no longer any need to sacrifice for sins.” (Hebrews 10:17-18, GW)
“Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:18-19, NASB)

God’s forgiveness removes our sin from us; we are no longer defined by that sin. God does not hold our sins against us; He doesn’t ask us to keep making up for them. After dealing with our sins, God gladly treats us with mercy and compassion; our relationship is restored. This is the forgiveness He empowers us extend to others as well.

Forgiving is a choice to obey God. Since God instructs us to forgive others, He empowers us to do so. This is hard, but it is worthwhile. Lack of forgiveness keeps us hooked to the hurtful situation; obeying God brings peace and joy. God wants us to have far more life!
Forgiveness comes from the heart. Saying the words “I forgive” without engaging our heart is not effective. Forgiveness requires us to admit — to ourself and to God — what negative emotions and false beliefs the person’s action or inaction triggered in our heart. We must resolve the belief about ourself that is causing the pain by replacing it with God’s perspective. Did the hurtful incident communicate we were unloved, unimportant, not good enough, or something similar? We must reject those messages and let our heart dwell on what God, our perfect, all-knowing Father, says about us.
Forgiveness is between us and God, not us and another person. God is our primary source of forgiveness because only He can heal our wounded hearts. Forgiveness is releasing our hurt to God and letting Him administer justice and punishment against those who hurt us. We may reconcile with the offender, but first we must privately forgive them before God.
Forgiveness is letting go. It is choosing to not retaliate or seek revenge. It does not mean we automatically trust the person or let them resume their old place in our life; that may not be safe or wise. But even when strict boundaries are necessary, forgiveness allows us to let go.
Forgiveness is agreeing to live with the consequence of another person’s sin. In reality, we always live with the consequences of others’s sin. But forgiving frees us from anger and bitterness that suppress far more life.
Forgiveness is letting God. It is trusting God to provide all we need for far more life, even things that others’ sin has taken away. It is also trusting God to mete out justice in His perfect timing, whether that is in this lifetime or at Jesus’ return.
Forgiving is not forgetting. It does not erase the incident from our memory as if it never happened. Our life may be profoundly changed, but Christ can heal our wounds so the memory is not painful.

Sometimes when people sin against us it doesn’t even hurt. This happens when we can see their actions for what they are: reflections of their pain that have nothing to do with us. One day I was cut off in traffic and my first response was to pray for the safety of the other driver. I was surprised because that was not my normal response! As I pondered the difference in my heart I realized I hadn’t take their actions personally. They clearly acted on whatever pressure or stress or negative emotions they were experiencing, which had nothing to do with my driving. Since I knew their decision wasn’t about me, their wrongful actions against me didn’t prompt a painful emotional response. Forgiveness was easy.

This isn’t always the case. Often others actions feel like personal attacks. In reality, they are revealing areas where we aren’t seeing ourselves as God does. Forgiveness gives us the opportunity to trade our misperceptions for God’s perfect perspective. As forgiving becomes our lifestyle, we are hurt and offended less often. We clearly see that people sin against us because of their own hurts. We feel compassion for them rather than pain. And living with less hurt and more compassion is far more life.

Sisters,
How do you react when others hurt you?
Is the baggage of past hurts weighing you down?
Which bullet points describing forgiveness are hard to believe? Tell God.
Talk to God about your hurts, admitting how you feel and what they tempt you to believe about yourself. Drink in His truth about you.
Ask Him to heal your damaged emotions.
Thank Him for the gift of forgiveness and emotional healing.
Enjoy far less pain and far more life.
-Shari

Tag: freedom

Freedom!

Forgiveness is…