Freedom vs. Bondage...

A few days ago I inadvertantly stumbled across a headline about a recently released book describing how a young woman had broken free of the purity movement...which basically emphasized saving yourself for marriage. I have to admit I was intrigued as to why the author associated "purity" with "bondage", and so I clicked on the link.

What I found is that alarmingly, this same kind of trend is occurring in Bible-believing churches everywhere. People are deciding that the standards and convictions from the Word of God that have been taught to them from their youth are really chains that keep them in bondage. This saddens me greatly!

Scripture actually speaks about bondage. Paul wrote to the church in Galatia and commanded them to Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us FREE, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. (Gal. 5:1). Even back a chapter in Galatians 4 and verse 3 he wrote Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. Later in verse 9 of the same chapter he asks the question But now, after that ye have known god, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

This begs the question: Why, after knowing God, the blessings of God, the abundant life that He offers in Him, would someone want to once again place themselves in bondage to the things of this world?

Perspective. You remember that one word resolution from a few posts ago? I believe that Christians lose their perspective as to why they separated to begin with. It's not what you're separating from, but Who you're separating to.

Think of Eve. She lived in a big beautiful garden filled with hundreds of trees. And of all the trees she could have eaten from, she picked one fruit from the tree God had forbidden her to eat of.

Why? Her focus shifted from the abundance around her to the one thing she couldn't have. Oh how she desired to eat it, and within a short amount of time she had reasoned away God's Words and ate of the forbidden fruit.

The results were not quite what she thought they would be. Because of her disobedience, she had to leave her perfect world to face toil and struggles, pain in childbrith...the murder of her second son at the hand of her firstborn, a perfect world thrown into chaos and turmoil from sin. I wonder if she ever regretted the bite she took...if she somehow wished to go back and do it all over again.

Since that time death, grief, pain, and suffering are something we've all had to deal with as a result...and the reason God had to send His perfect Son as a sacrifice for our sin.

For Eve, she had gone from freedom to bondage.

For almost forty years of my life I have known nothing but church and ministry. And I find that not only am I not bitter about what I could or could not do, I am so very grateful for all that I have been taught. I found it's just not worth focusing on what God says I can't do in order to have the right relationship with Him. That only brings bitterness and contempt toward the Word of God...which makes His commands feel like chains of bondage.

Yet when I look at the abundance of the Christian life around me, I find freedom...and joy....AND peace.

There's no need to break free. You see...I'm already free, because that's what the truth of God's Word makes me. (John 8:32)

Simply Serving Him,