Freedom

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)

Christ made it possible for our eternal salvation and being spared from the wrath to come, but we still have work to do while here on this planet. He did not create us to be robots, nor does He wish to control us against our will. Once we are saved and placed on the road of discipleship it is up to us whether to take up that journey and at what pace.

Consider the following from gotquestions.org discussing discipleship:

“A Christian disciple is a person who follows Jesus Christ and accepts and assists in the spreading of the good news of salvation through Him. Christian discipleship is the process by which disciples grow in the Lord Jesus Christ and are equipped by the indwelling Holy Spirit to overcome the pressures and trials of this present life and become more and more Christlike. This process requires believers to respond to the Holy Spirit’s prompting to examine their thoughts, words, and actions and compare them with the Word of God. This requires that we be in the Word daily—studying it, praying over it, and obeying it. In addition, we should always be ready to give testimony of the reason for the hope that is within us (1 Peter 3:15) and to disciple others to walk in His way. “

Notice that nothing in here speaks of Christ forcing this on us. The Holy Spirit stands ready to assist and inspire but the heavy lifting is ours to do.

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)

When Paul wrote the above, he said WE have to take our thoughts captive. Christ doesn’t do mind control – that is the daily habit we have to undertake. While we are called to control more than just our thoughts, that is where it starts.

Our internal dialogue is what governs our speech and actions. It direct our conversation and oversees our responses to the events of the day, which is why it is so very important to start with our mind and have it renewed daily. It is a battle we will wage until we have our resurrected bodies that are no longer slaves to our sinful nature.

We are called to put Jesus first, and be obedient to all Christ calls us to do. Our lives should produce good fruit that others can see.

Our love should be evident from all we do and say. When we do, we are sure to make an impact on this fallen world – not for our glory but for His.