If I could draw, I think you would agree that the picture in my head is amazing. But I can't draw, so I'm going to attempt to bring you into the story in my mind. It's a little long...but if you give it a few minutes, I pray the truth of it resonates deep within your soul. Let's begin...
Imagine that you are having the time of your life. Everything is so incredibly fun and you feel so alive. You never have a shortage of friends to party with, perhaps drugs or alcohol make things even better. You are constantly complimented, everyone seems to love you. Or do they just love how you make them feel? Still, it's better than being alone. What could be better than this? Still...after awhile...you can't help feeling like your relationships are just a bit superficial. After people hang with you they split once you've given them what they've wanted. In the midst of the "fun", surrounded by people, the life that once made you feel so alive now feels empty. Like something is missing. But what? You try changing some things- new friends, a new job, maybe even trying out church. Things get worse. The emptiness takes over. You start turning to drugs or alcohol to escape it. All those fun things suffocate you now. Everything just seems to crush you. You run to the edge of yourself and find that you are in a cage. As far around as you can see, like an animal in a zoo, you are trapped.
Then you see something. A light. On the other side of the bars. You cry out- "HELP! Hey, help me! Please!" Desperately you run towards it, and the light becomes brighter. You get to the edge of the cage and realize it is a man. Frantically reaching, stretching your arm through the bars you grab onto his robe. "Save me!!! I can't get out of here!" you cry.
And just like that, the bars are gone.
You look around only to find you are alone in a field with this man, who calls himself Jesus.
His eyes are piercing, enough to see the depths of your anguish, and at the same time tender enough to soothe your soul.
And in that moment, you know you are whole. Safe. Loved. Wrapping you tightly in a bear hug, He whispers in your ear with a catch in His voice, "welcome, my beloved."
He takes your hand and leads you by His side across the hill. You had never much cared what was happening over there, but now you see clearly. Colors are so vivid, sounds so crystal clear, light brighter than you ever imagined. Laughter flows around you, joy lifts you up. People come forward to engage you in true friendship. This...THIS is life. This is what it feels to be alive. Dead to the old life which weighed you down, you are able to run and laugh with the other who have discovered what it means to truly LIVE. You look to Jesus and see the pleasure on His face at seeing you understand all this.
Then someone comes to visit. It's a curious, dark little creature...and he's come to bring you back "home." "Your friends miss you, you see. They are the ones who really know you. We need you back on the other side of the hill. You don't really think you belong here, do you?" He cackles, skeptically.
Confused, you look to Jesus. "Maybe he is right," you think. "Maybe once Jesus really gets to know me, He'll send me back anyways."
All of a sudden, He is right in your face. Those piercing eyes meet yours again. "Dear one, I set you free so you could be free indeed. Don't go back to that life of captivity. Don't go back to the cage. It is for freedom I set you free! You are free to choose, of course. But know that the price has been paid and you are no longer bound to that life you once lived. You are mine, and I love you. Exactly as you are."
Fire stirs deep within your soul as you wrap your mind around those words. You turn to the creature and respond "No. I'm staying here. I won't let you take me back to be your slave. I am free here." And you return to your true life, that which you were created to experience. All is well.
Galatians 5:1 (msg)- "Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you."
This passage compares the life seeking our own selves to the life lived in Christ's freedom:
It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom.
But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way fruit appears in an orchard- things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. (Gal. 5:19-23, Msg)
So, the choice is yours. How will you use your freedom?
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