DOES IT MEAN TO BE
Teen
FREE?
Our Daily Bread
WHAT
WHAT
REAL FREEDOM? IS
This was the question a friend of mine asked on social media. I couldn’t help myself, so I posted something like this:
I would guess you think the freest people in the world are the ones who get to do whatever they want, whenever they want! They don’t have to answer to anyone else but themselves. They can have cake for breakfast, stay home and just watch TV all day if they like. So I feel sorry for the Olympic athletes: “Don’t eat this. Don’t do that. Don’t smoke. Don’t drink. Run here. Sprint there.” It’s all rules, rules, rules; they’re like slaves. They must feel so trapped. Sorry about the sarcasm, but I’m sure you get the point. I knew my friend was worried that following Jesus would just force him into a life of rules. And my friend wanted to be free. His idea of freedom was being able to do whatever he wanted. Most of us probably feel that way, but is that true freedom? And how does it compare to the life Jesus offers us?
IS
FREEDOM DOING
WHATEVER
IÂ WANT?
The dictionary says freedom is: “Being able to say, think or do whatever you want without being controlled or limited.” But is this actually right? Imagine life without rules: no seat-belt laws, no laws against stealing, nothing to force you to go to school and learn stuff, no laws against murder, not even a law against people bothering you and following you home from school each day. Life with total freedom of choice. Would you feel safe? Would you enjoy the freedom of everyone being able to do whatever they wanted “without being controlled or limited”? Our laws are actually the reason we can live in freedom.
Doing whatever we want sounds good, but it can quickly turn ugly. We need boundaries and rules if we are going to live in a world that has more people in it than just me. But following the rules at school (for example) probably isn’t the main thing we worry about when we think of freedom. Our big problem is that we want to be our own people and make our own choices. So we think that Jesus would kind of get in the way of that, like adding another parent or teacher to our lives! And He does. If we’re following Him, we’re no longer doing our own thing. But does obeying God just result in a life of rules and boredom?
WILL GOD MAKE ME
FEEL
FED UP?
As a teenager, I was scared of trusting Jesus. I worried that if I gave Him control of my life, He would make me feel sad and fed up. Maybe He’d send me to some hot, dusty country where my life would be filled with problems; or maybe He’d tell me to marry someone ‘nice’ but totally boring. The choice, to me, seemed to be Jesus or happiness. When I finally trusted Jesus, what I found was very different. Following Jesus is a bit like another definition for freedom:
“To be honoured and given special rights.” When a celebrity or sports star is given the ‘keys’ to their home town, it means they have the freedom of the city. They can go where they like, see what they want, enjoy all the opportunities—and no door will be locked. They have freedom. But not freedom from the law. They still couldn’t throw someone out of a window or burn down a building. Within the laws of that town, they have the freedom of the town. That’s kind of what the freedom Jesus offers looks like. Trusting Him means we become God’s children; we have the right to enjoy God’s protection, guidance and love. But it still means we have to obey Him . . .
THE
FREEDOM OF OBEDIENCE
My daughter learned to run when she was about 18 months old. She wanted to run everywhere; but she could have easily dashed out on to a road. So I taught my toddler to come when I called her. This involved tears from both of us as I disciplined her for her own safety. But soon she didn’t need to hold my hand everywhere. She could run ‘free’ safely because she listened to my voice. I once heard a Christian speaker say,
“When the Bible says ‘God is love’, it means he is always trying to block us from making a mess of things.” This is why God gives us rules and restrictions. Just as I knew how to keep my daughter safe, God sees the dangers we are unaware of. We’re told “God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?” (Hebrews 12:7) and “God disciplines us for our own good . . . No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (12:10-11). The things God tells us to do and the difficult stuff He leads us through can feel hard at the time. But as we trust our Father, asking for His leading, He will help us work our way through the dangers of this world. We will find freedom in knowing He leads us “for our own good”.
REAL
FREEDOM
When Jesus talked about freedom, the people listening felt like we do today, saying:
“[We] have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” (John 8:33). But they hadn’t understood they were slaves to “sin” (v.34). Living without God doesn’t mean we get to live without anyone telling us what to do. If God is not in charge, then sin is. And sin does not have our good in mind (Romans 6:16-23). Sin is our selfishness that makes us just want to do whatever we want, with no thought for God or His ways. It makes us chase happiness and keep going to greater lengths to get a buzz in life—leading to God’s judgement after we die (Romans 5:12; Hebrews 9:27). I recently met an alcoholic called Frank. The only way he could sleep was by drinking a whole bottle of vodka every night. He started his day with vodka too. Surrender wasn’t an option for him; not to God or anyone else. Except alcohol. That was the thing; Frank wasn’t in charge of his life, booze was. But he was too trapped to see it. Then one night Frank changed who was in control. I was there when he said to Jesus, “My way isn’t working. From now on, you can drive.” He isn’t perfect by any means (he still needs a lot of support and has been to rehab), but Frank is a new man. Jesus is setting him free. Frank has a real peace from knowing God loves him as His own child, is changing his attitude and is getting a place in heaven ready for him (John 14:1-3).
WHAT
FREEDOM
LOOKS LIKE
The freedom Jesus offers is for all of us. Here’s just some of the ways we can see that freedom in action: Freedom from guilt: This doesn’t mean we’ll never struggle with guilty feelings. But when we do, we can remember that Jesus has freed us from the punishment of our sin for good (Hebrews 9:26). We’re promised:
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our [sin] from us” (Psalm 103:12). Everything we’re ashamed of, everything we hope no one ever finds out about—all of it was paid for when Jesus died on the cross, making us completely clean in God’s sight. We’re free from sin’s rule and punishment. Our wrongs, even the ones we haven’t done yet, have been paid for. Freedom from worry: Everything about us is in Jesus powerful, loving hands, including our future and even our death. His home has become our home; He has promised to guide us safely to heaven. And He promises to be with us for every step of the journey. Nothing in the world can separate us from Him (Romans 8:38-39). Whenever things get too much, we can remember: “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid” (Psalm 118:6). Freedom from regret: Those missed opportunities (and all the slip ups still to come) don’t make us who we are anymore. Jesus is leading us, so we don’t need to stress over ‘what could have been’. He will guide us and grow us in just the right way. He knows His perfect plans for us.
WHAT
FREEDOM
LOOKS LIKE
That doesn’t mean we’ll never ever regret anything ever again; there are always going to be things we wish we hadn’t said or done. But when we do face regrets, the Bible tells us we can bring our sadness to God and rest in His comfort and forgiveness. He gives us the freedom to move on from regret, rather than being trapped by it (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). Freedom to love: Paul tells us
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to [do whatever you want]; rather, serve one another humbly in love” (Galatians 5:13).
Our freedom from sin means we can learn to love and serve people like Jesus did when He was on earth. Including people we wouldn’t normally mix with. Limited by our own (often flawed) points of view, we keep away from the weird kids in class and anyone who’s ‘different’ to us. But with God’s Spirit teaching us Jesus’ love for everyone He has made, we can choose to look out for absolutely anyone (Ephesians 5:18)! Freedom to be the best we can be: “Who am I?” “What will happen if I flunk my exams?” “What am I going to do after I leave school?” While these are important questions, we don’t have to stress or worry over them. God created us and knows exactly what we love to do and where we fit. We can trust His plan in our lives. We don’t need to watch out for our ‘break’. We are free to rest in and trust Jesus’ leading. It’s like a friend buying the latest smartphone and then using it as a doorstop. You’d ask why they’re wasting it. They may say, “But it’s good at holding the door open.” It might be. But that isn’t what it was designed to do. Smartphones might be good doorstops, but they’re much better as smartphones. You might be great at doing your own thing, but that isn’t what you were designed for. Only God knows best exactly what He made you to do. Only by putting yourself in His hands can you be everything He created you to be.
ALL I
WANT IN
LIFE IS TO BELONG TO YOU
I recently heard the story of a slave auction in the 1850’s— a time when the terrible slave trade was still going on. A man was walking past a marketplace when he saw several rich men bidding for a pretty girl. Their bids got higher and higher, much higher than a normal price for a slave at the time, each one eyeing her greedily. The man watching couldn’t bear what he was seeing. As he heard them saying what they would do with that poor girl, he was unable to keep silent. So he spoke up—with a bid of his own. It was twice the amount of the last bid. It brought the auction to a close, and the girl was handed over to the man, hate filling her eyes. He took her across the road to a lawyer’s office straightaway. After a few conversations the man turned to the girl and handed her some documents. “These are your manumission papers,” he said, “You’re free.” The hate in her face was replaced with shock. “You bought me to set me free?” “Yes,” he replied. “You’re free.” The girl fell to the floor, crying at his feet.
“Sir, you bought me to set me free! All I want in life is to belong to you.”
ALL I WANT IN IS TO
LIFE BELONG TO YOU Jesus has bought and freed us in a similar way. He has taken us out of the rule of sin so that we can belong to God instead (1 Colossians 1:12-14). We’re not the unhappy, fed up slaves of sin anymore. Now we are God’s own children! Real freedom isn’t about not having anyone in charge of us. Freedom is belonging to Someone who loves us deeply and will always treat us well. Just like that slave girl, when we see how good and loving our buyer is, we will know He isn’t going to mistreat us, hurt us, restrict us, shame us or trap us. We can say to Him “All I want in life is to belong to You!” Let’s use the freedom Jesus has given us from sin and death to live for Him in thankfulness, showing this life of real freedom to those we know!
If you want to find out more about who Jesus is, Our Daily Bread Ministries would love to help. We have lots of leaflets available to help explain more about him and the evidence for his life, death and empty grave. You can read them all for free at ourdailybread.org/lookingatlife The best place to find out more about Jesus is in the Bible itself. Why not get a copy and start reading a book within the Bible called “John”. This is an eyewitness account of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. © 2018 by Our Daily Bread Ministries. All rights reserved.
“YOU, MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS, WERE CALLED TO BE FREE. BUT DO NOT USE YOUR FREEDOM TO [DO WHATEVER YOU WANT]; RATHER, SERVE ONE ANOTHER HUMBLY IN LOVE” (GALATIANS 5:13).