another fear that people have that keeps them from GOD is that i'll lose my freedom.
now the world defines freedom as a life without any restraint – do anything i want to do, say anything i want to say, without anybody telling me yes or no.
we have parents who worry about the music their kids listen to. the words to frank sinatra's “my way” are much worse than some of today’s songs. “i did it my way!” everybody got burned by me, but i did it my way! i left five marriages behind but i did it my way! total selfishness! i had my freedom!
what has sexual freedom given us? aids, social diseases, abortions. what has chemical freedom given us? grade school addicts, the most chemically dependent society in the world. what has credit card freedom given us? 146 easy payments. there is no such thing as an easy payment. they are all hard. trillion dollar national debt.
you are not as free as you think you are. the bible teaches that with every choice you make there are consequences. you are free to live anyway you want to live. but once you make that choice you are no longer free. what you sow you will reap.
what does the bible say about freedom? john 8.36 (tev) JESUS said, if the SON sets you free, you will be really free! notice the word, really.
he's talking about real freedom not phony freedom. real freedom is freedom from guilt, from worry, from bitterness, from fear of death cause i know that i'm going to heaven, free to be myself, free to quit pretending – that's real freedom. how do you get rid of those kinds of fears?
1 john 4.18 (niv), there is no fear in love. but perfect love drives out fear. the antidote to fear is to recognize how much GOD loves you. love and fear can't exist in the same heart. when you realize how much GOD loves you, you're not going to have a fear of becoming a fanatic or that GOD's going to take away your fun or your freedom or anything else in life. HE's not a cruel GOD, HE's a loving GOD.
the very first words of JESUS when HE came out of the tomb on easter sunday was “don't be afraid”. HE said, “i don't want you to be afraid! i didn't come to scare you, i came to save you.” we just need to realize how much GOD loves us.
GOD is not at all the way many people think HE is. do you think GOD gets HIS kicks out of making people miserable? what kind of GOD do you think we serve? you need to realize how much HE loves you.
just a thought from the front porch…
2 comments:
Great post, Bill. Thanks! Most people today don't really know what freedom is. Freedom of choice is what the US was founded on and is what Jesus taught. But choices have consequences. Too many people today think freedom means "freedom from consequences." Wrong! Thanks again for your inspiring blog!
so true stan. freedom of choice but not freedom of consequences. for one that is why abortion is so important to a vast segment of society. they want sexual freedom but not babies.
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