Free

Free

You have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.

“COURTNEY, please come downstairs.”

Courtney recognized her mom’s tone of voice. Oh boy. Mom saw my grades. “Yes, Mom?” she called as she started down the steps, wondering whether she might wriggle free of the looming consequences.

“Court, when we agreed you could attend your distance-learning classes at the desk in your bedroom, being free to work at your own pace, it was dependent upon you getting your work turned in on time and keeping your grades up. You aren’t handling that well, so you’ll be doing school at the kitchen table next to me this week.”

It was after the dust had settled and the school day was complete that my friend—Courtney’s mom—made her daughter popcorn and hot cocoa and had a quiet conversation around the idea of being free and the flip side of that coin—accountability, and discipline.

Like Courtney, we love the concept of being free—we crave it even. The ability to make our own decisions, to control our own destiny, to accomplish tasks at a pace we set sounds amazing. But being free does not mean living without consequence, and, without accountability and discipline, freedom can spiral us into situations of our own making that put us into bondage, leaving us panicked and facing undesirable consequences.

Jesus died so that we might be free. His sacrifice on the Cross freed us from death, absolving our sins, and making us right with God. He gave us the opportunity to choose a new life by believing in him and the freedom to choose what we might do with it. Jesus invites and beckons rather than forcing or dictating, and we are free to respond, or not.

That hard-won freedom offered by Jesus’ crucifixion does not give us a license for doing whatever we want, whenever we want to. Without discipline and accountability, freedom can lead to ruin, ensnaring us in sin. But, when we lay down our freedom, willingly subjecting ourselves to discipline and accountability, offering our lives to God and abiding by Jesus’ teachings, we will find abundant life.

Lord, may we use the freedom you offer wisely, making choices that align with your Word. Amen.

-Julie

One Good Step: Pick one area where you’ve been abusing freedom, making unhealthy decisions in some way. What boundary are you going to establish, starting today?