Free To Serve
free•dom (noun)
: the quality or state of being free: such as
a. : the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action
b. : liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another: independence
c. : unrestricted use
It amazes me how one word can have such power over almost everything it touches. This ideology has been fought for, died over and sought after since the beginning of our existence. Which, when you think about it, that much sway and control, actually begins to produce the very opposite meaning of the word and thus creating an oxymoron.
The issue lies in the fact that civilizations, for thousands of years, have incorrectly defined what freedom actually is. At this point, you are probably furrowing your brows at my last sentence, and wondering where my train of thought could possibly be going, (and maybe even thinking it has completely jumped the tracks, and careened off the cliff.) Hang with me for a few moments, and hopefully I can get you to catch my vision.
: the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action
The World: Society has pounded in our brains, you have the ability to choose, think and act as you please. You make your own way, forge your own path and do your own thing. You are to become your own man/woman, free to choose your own destiny. You even have so much freedom these days, you are allowed to choose your own gender. That is power.
The Kingdom: “Then He said to them all, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciples must deny themselves, and take up their cross daily and follow me.’” (Luke 9:23) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) “‘Haven’t you read in the scriptures?”, Jesus replied. ‘They record that from the beginning, ‘God made them male and female.’” (Matthew 19:4)
: liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another: independence
The World: “Do what thou wilt, shall be the whole of the Law.” -Aleister Crowley. This sums up perfectly, the pervading thought among most, as to what true freedom is to look like. No one can tell you what to do. You are your own master and commander, indebted to no one. You do you, boo.
The Kingdom: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20a) “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.” (Romans 6:22) “Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin and you have become slaves to righteous living.” (Romans 6:15-18)
: unrestricted use
The World: You get to drink as much as you want, sleep with whomever you wish, stare at a screen for endless hours, spew all manner of vulgarity in the comment sections of social media and spend yourself into piles of debt. Restraint in the things of this life that make you happy? Ridiculous! You only have one life to live- Carpe Diem!
The Kingdom: “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” (Proverbs 25:28) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control; against such things, there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-24) “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)
The main point I need you to see is this- When Christ broke the bonds of slavery on the cross, it was not so you could run wide open without any restrictions or boundaries. Actually, it was for the purpose of an exchange.
When Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 11 to “take My yoke upon you”, He is making a very important statement that we need to understand. A yoke, is a device used by farmers to connect two animals together, usually oxen or horses, so they can be used to pull plows and cultivate ground for planting crops.
In years past, these were strong, heavy wooden beams. When placed across the backs of the animals, the weight was distributed between the two, so they could share the load. It was also very important that both animals be of similar size and stature, in order to pull and plow evenly. If one ox was larger than another, it would place added strain on the smaller of the two, and the plow would not move in straight rows as desired. The work they were designed to do, would be hindered tremendously.
Prior to receiving Christ as our Lord and Savior, scripture tells us (as you already saw above in our Romans passages), we are a slave to sin. Yoked with the ruler of this present age, bound by his rules and restraints. At first, it seems to be a wonderful arrangement. Satan creates enough smoke and mirrors, you don’t realize you are starting to get blisters on your shoulders. The “freedom” you have in the things of this world do offer pleasure initially, but the longer you participate, the further down the path you go, you begin to feel the stabbing pain of the heavy burden down your back.
You start to feel trapped, empty, worn out, frustrated, angry, depressed, anxious. As the journey continues, you come to recognize the yoke has become so heavy, you can barely keep going. It is here, you look over and find yourself all alone, laboring to pull and drag yourself through the muck of sin and shame.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and over burdened, and I will cause you to rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is wholesome, and My burden is light and easy to be borne.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Jesus is offering an exchange. Do you see it? He doesn’t say- “Here, let me take that yoke (which represents ownership) of Satan off of you, and throw this away, never to be seen again. You should not have something like that on you.” Instead He says let me offer you a better arrangement, take MY yoke instead.
When you work for Me, I handle all the heavy lifting. When we partner together, I do more than just share the load, I take the majority of it upon My shoulders. When you bind yourself to Me, I am here to assist you through it all, never to leave you, nor forsake you.
Freedom is not running around, doing whatever you please, making all your own decisions, acting however you wish and getting to be your own boss. (The world’s definition) That is a lie. Scripture tells us, you will wear a yoke of ownership to someone.
True, unrestraint in living, means you bind yourself to the One who loves you enough to tell you what you are doing is wrong, keep you safe within boundaries, shows you areas of your life where you need to smooth out some rough edges and carries you when you get weary.
It means, He gets to call the shots- not you.
It is defined by a life lived serving Jesus, dying to your will and choosing, instead, to follow God’s.
Want to know the most beautiful mystery of it all? The more tightly you bind yourself to Christ and utterly surrender all of your life to Him, the more at peace you feel. You rest better at night. You breathe easier throughout your days. And when life becomes unbearable, (and at some point in everyone’s life it does), you are able to weather the storm, because you look over and realize He is still by your side, working all things out for your good and His glory.
Do not listen to the cunning, forked tongue that speaks vain, deceitful promises. The owner of those words, wants nothing more than to see you imprisoned in his death chamber for all eternity.
But also, do not be deceived. You must decide which master you will serve. Despite popular opinion, you do not get to be your own god. You will be bound to someone. You will serve a ruler. If you wish to learn more about giving your life to Jesus, please reach out to me at my contact page, and I will be happy to discuss that further.
Perhaps you already made the choice to follow after Jesus, but are still wrestling with the desire to control certain aspects of your life. I challenge you to crucify your flesh, die daily as Paul wrote (1 Corinthians 15:31), repent of the sin of disobedience and serve our Lord well for the rest of your days.
Remember-
“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received as a gift from God? You are not your own. You were bought with a price. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)