Freedom!!

Living loved by God leads to trusting him; trusting him leads to freedom in so many important and delightful ways. 

(So, here's the deal. I'm working through some really life-giving stuff that I have been growing in for the past several years. It starts with learning to live loved by God, living in the affection of a heavenly Father. Trusting God is a natural outcome of that relationship of love, and it frees me in some pretty exciting ways. I can then share in some fantastic life with others who have discovered this God of love, as well as those who haven't discovered him ... yet. :) So, its' Love-trust-freedom-others-witness. That's it. I've written about the first two. Just in case you need to go back and catch up.)


    Living loved by a Father who accepts me with such amazing grace and actually changes me by his love is what I am all about. I have discovered that God removes all condemnation and shame and has no use for them in our life together. He doesn't use fear and manipulation to change me. None of those things contribute to my growth -- never have. Living loved by this awesome Father naturally leads to trust and I'm learning how that trust leads to freedom. I've discovered that he's got my back. I don't need to grab for myself anymore. When our children were little, we read a Berenstain Bears' book that talked about the "galloping greedy gimmes." You know, Gimme this, gimme that. Greed, a selfish by-product of mistrust, is a weakness so many of us struggle with. And, we mask it sometimes with such noble or "spiritual facades." But, that's a tangent for another blog. 

    As I grow in the reality of our Father's love, I am discovering that the greatest freedom I get to experience is the freedom from being dominated by my own selfish desires and agendas. The selfish tendency to try to get things my way is a trap. My selfishness always hurts me and those around me. Depending on its severity, the ripple effect can be devastating. When I know how much God loves me, that he's got my back and is lovingly involved in my life at every level, I have no need to grab after the things he hasn't given me. Simple as that (...but not so easy to live all the time). Growing in trust leads to growing free from selfishness. I'm not so preoccupied with "getting" and learning to respond to what he gives. It's all about seeing him as my loving Father.

    Living loved and growing to understand that God is taking care of what needs to be taken care of also frees me from being controlled by the opinions of others about me. If I have God's approval, I don't really need yours. Maybe that sounds a bit arrogant, but I don't believe it is, and I don't think of it that way at all. Of course we need each other. Of course, we don't get places in life if people think less of us than they need to. Living in the love of the Father though and growing in trusting him really does free me from that incessant, nagging worry over the opinions and expectations of the people around me. Get this. Really. If God approves of me, do I really need to worry about what you think of me? Park there for a few minutes. If I'm wrong about that, nail me good, okay?

    I have found in my life that people do hurt me. How about you? Whether we mean to or not, we all can be hurtful to others. It usually arises out of our own selfish agendas. So, one of the freedoms that I've been learning to experience with the loving Father is the freedom to forgive. Wayne Jacobsen quotes Ann Lamott who says, "Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and waiting for the rat to die." Unforgiveness hurts the unforgiving more. I have been hurt. So have you. So will you and I, I'm pretty sure of that. One of the blessings of knowing that God loves you so deeply and accepts you so thoroughly is that you don't need to be bound up by those hurts. You're safe now. You can release your forgiveness on people much easier. Forgiveness has a lot to do with taking your hands off the throats of those who have offended and damaged you. (Reconciling with them is a different matter.) Only when you know how totally forgiven you are can you revel in forgiving others.

    There are other freedoms. I think the freedom from fear is a big one. Most people have been ingrained in this fear thing. We've been taught to be afraid ... afraid of God, the future, that we are on the wrong side of God, failure, being wrong. This is an area God is inching me out of, but do you know what the best part about this is? The best part is that God doesn't wait for me to be free from fear to invite me into his life. This God wants to be at home in me. He wants me to be at home in him, regardless of my my fears and doubts. He doesn't wait for perfection. He doesn't wait for me to get it, but moves in and woos me to himself. He joins himself to us "while we were yet sinners" as the letter to the Romans says. I would put freedom from worry right next the liberation from fear. Worry is a sister to fear. If God's got my back and I know where I stand with him at any moment in time, in other words if I know I am totally loved and accepted, I have no reason to be afraid. Awesome truth, 'tis! 

    You know what else comes along? I don't need to manipulate others to provide my well being. I am completely safe next to God. A deep sense of worth and well being come right out of our relationship with God. When we tie our sense of well being to what others do, we will always tend to manipulate them to get what we feel we need. People do this with churches. As long as I can get from my "church" what I feel I need, I'm fine. When it gets to where I'm not getting what I want, I will try to change it to fit my idea of what it needs to be... or I leave to find it somewhere else. Churches exist in a sort of mutuality: I "need" a certain kind of music, someone is there who "needs" to have people hear their kind of music. I "need" a certain style of "worship," someone is there who "needs" to lead in that style. I "need" to hear a certain kind of preaching, someone "needs" to preach in that certain way. I "need" a certain childrens' program, someone "needs" to provide that type of program. It's a mutual accommodation based on what I perceive as my needs, as a friend of mine describes it. As long as I love to have my back scratched, and you love to scratch my back, we're fine. As soon as one of us lets the other down, "we" are toast. 

    In a love-filled relationship with God and others, I don't "need" anything from you. I get everything I need from God. He may very well provide it through you, and he often does ... because he loves to see us loving each other in very practical ways. ("This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples -- when they see the love you have for one another." -- Jesus)  I love that, too. Paul, the New Testament writer, certainly shows us how God gives gifts to "the body," including various forms of leadership. But, it isn't a matter of me trying to find what I think I need from others, or from you. You may need to hear what I have to say, but it isn't because you are looking to me to find what you need. You are looking to your Father who provides in whatever creative way he chooses (he is the Creator, after all!). We get the blessing of a really cool relationship because we are both living in a Father who guides us, and grows us in his life. Maybe I haven't described this as adequately as it could be, but hopefully you get the idea. We are free to rest in our acceptance by the Father. We are free from manipulation -- to not manipulate nor be manipulated. 

    The upshot all of this freedom talk is that I don't have to force the kingdom of God into reality and aliveness. My merely human effort on its best day won't do that. The fruit of God's kingdom in the earth comes as we live in Him together. And, what could be a more healthy and wonderful basis for sharing life in the Body than this freedom to live in him? I'm not here to manipulate you to give me what only God can give. I am not about forcing God into my agendas and plans. While living in the Father's affection and growing in trusting him I find myself in the middle of people he has brought into my life to share God's life. I can share what he has given me. You can share what he has given you. And, there is where real body life comes alive. 

    What is that body life like? How does it all come together? I'm gonna try and tackle that next time (if I'm brave enough. :)) 

    Would you let God love you? Your trust will grow deeply as a result of that love. I guarantee it. Real freedom will come as you allow your growing relationship of love with God to displace ugly selfishness that comes so easily to all of us.

 ~ Skip