Or it may appear like this: Living life by my own rules. No one to tell me no – my desires are what is most important. After all, isn’t that one of the thrills we eagerly anticipate about university? No longer do we have to obey the rules of our parents, be monitored by our schoolteachers, or live in the same town or city we grew up in (which happens to be London all too often) any more. No more early dinners at the table, no more 10pm curfews, and no more questioning about how much alcohol we’ve consumed on a night out! So, when thinking about freedom, the idea of subjecting oneself to a committed accountable, a relationship based in discipleship doesn’t exactly sound exciting. And what do I mean by that? I mean having someone older than you in your life, who can provide sound spiritual advice, based solely around the Bible. Someone you can read, share struggles and pray with. However, also someone who can challenge you, call out the areas in your life that you can work on, all in a loving way which you can humbly receive. But why subject yourself to this kind of relationship? Why let someone challenge me in my life? After all, doesn’t the bible say “it is for freedom Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1 NIV), so how can I be freed for freedom in discipleship? Often, we may find that although it’s initially appealing, the freedom we look for isn’t as easy or as desirable as many of us dream it will be. Why else would so many students duck home for a weekend during term time? Or have their parents come up to provide food or medicines?
I believe that the freedom we find in Christ is far better than anything we’d find elsewhere. And part of the freedom we have in Christ is actually found within being discipled. First and foremost, we are invited to be disciples of Christ, who tells us “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”. And the truth does set us free. Knowing that we are loved by God regardless of our sins frees us from the shame. And as we are discipled, we are conformed to the image of the Son (Romans 8:29). In the great commission, Jesus says to “make disciples of all nations”. Notice how it doesn’t just say to spread the gospel – but to actively make disciples. This was modelled for the disciples through their relationship with Jesus, who taught them (Mark 4:33), loved them (John 13:1), admonished them (Mark 10:13-15) and journeyed with them. We also see many similar relationships throughout the bible. Joshua was discipled by Moses, as Moses teaches him from a young age (Numbers 11:26-30) and eventually hands
freedom in discipleship
Roaming free, like a horse in an open field. Not a care in the world, running unshackled across the earth.
Just as a fresher recently said told me, “They don’t tell you how much time adulting takes!”. The truth is that the picture our culture paints of freedom is a false one. One that creates false hope, false expectations, and far too often, a false nature as we pretend to enjoy ourselves when deep down, we’re struggling and hurting.
Molayo Ogunde
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or some of us, freedom resembles something like this:
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