Called to BE Free: within God’s boundary lines
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Galatians 5:1
Ladies, to be free it is imperative we grasp the very essence of our gift of freedom from the Father who called you by the grace of Christ (Galatians 1:6).
God has always been free. Freedom is part of Him: “that attribute of God whereby he does whatever he pleases (Psalm 115:3) …so long as the actions he takes are consistent with his own moral character.” (Gruden’s Systematic Theology, p.216). All of Him has to agree that what He chooses to do is consistent with holiness and love and all those other great qualities He possesses. Our God is a work of art in perfect balance.
Since we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), freedom is embedded in our souls. But being omniscient, God wrapped His loving arms around His creation and determined one rule at the very minimum was necessary to save us from ourselves: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). Adam and Eve had all they could ever want in the perfection of Eden, including the fruit of the tree of life (Genesis 2:9), to sustain them for eternity. God knew that a knowledge of evil and life in Eden forever would not mix.
While we are created in the image of God, we are not God—never will be. Our freedom demands boundaries. “Scripture nowhere says that we are ‘free’ in the sense of being outside of God’s control…nor does it say we are ‘free’ in the sense of being able to do right on our own apart from God’s power.” (Grudem, p.331). We are able to choose how to live our days in spiritual balance; but to be free as God intended, we need His rules.
Ask a sixteen-year-old if rules are necessary and he will flippantly say no. Ask him if I’m free to take his earbuds from his locker and keep them. He texts me back: “wait, wdym?” There are rules. Even the twelve-year-old can tell me that God is the ultimate rule-maker. Adam and Eve learned the hard way, as do we.
If we learn to be free in God’s fashion, we will trust His boundaries. May we pray with David: LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance (Psalm 16:5-6).
Nancy P
