Do you feel free today? Are you dealing with a situation where you feel trapped. Perhaps you’re working in a boring monotonous job where you see no light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps someone in authority mistreats you and feel helpless. Our natural desire is for freedom—restrictions just don’t sit well with us. Deep down, we really don’t like to be told what to do. We all desire to move, think and act without tethers and resistance. A feeling of being trapped reminds us of our deep longing for freedom. We want it—we dream about it. It’s a core desire.
GOD has wisely imposed laws of nature and limitations on human beings. Our bodies decay; we can’t visit other dimensions, we’re a slave to time—we don’t know everything. That’s just scratching the surface. Ultimately, you and I have a limited free will in a limited set of circumstances.
Albeit, limited free will and limited capabilities are necessary in this lifetime. We need them in order to exist in our current state. Why? Sinful man lacks the wisdom and the self-control to handle more freedom. Imagine the crime and uncontrollable chaos if everyone on Earth could move their body at will through the air and through walls. Imagine if we had superior capabilities in our minds and in our senses. We would destroy life and peace in short order–chaos would reign. Sin, pain, death, lies and our old natures, need to be removed from society before the full extent of the glorious freedom of the children of GOD can be revealed and executed.
When it is revealed, the children of GOD will live out the fruits of the spirit perfectly without sin. We will exercise our greater power, but always in the will of our Father and unto His glory.
When glorified Saints with the mind of Christ are only acting in truth, the rules and restrictions that were necessary because of our sinful nature will no longer be imposed on us. There will be limits, but that is because GOD places limitations on every created creature.
Saints with glorified bodies will have much more power and capabilities than they do in their mortal bodies, but we will continue to be faithful with what we have been given. We will still want to serve GOD and bring glory to Him. We will have total freedom, but we’ll never do anything inappropriate, never lie, never cheat, never steal, never act selfishly, never act out of fear or doubt. Eternity is a place without a desire, or a temptation to sin. The Bible says:
The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:15-16 NIV
We have the mind of Christ now through the power of the Holy Spirit, but we still struggle with our sinful nature. Sometimes, we yield to its temptations—we struggle–we’re not completely free. One day, we will be free from that struggle and our mind, thoughts and actions will be in sync with the mind of Christ.
Benjamin Franklin said: “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”
One day, we will be wholly virtuous and have only one master—the Triune GOD. We will finally be fully capable of living out the fullness of freedom. It’s a deep desire that Christ has given us. It’s a desire that brings us some frustration and unfulfillment now because we cannot carry it out to the degree that we would like. But one day, we will have the full and use it to worship our Savior all the more.
Take a moment and imagine what your eternal freedom from man’s rules and restrictions would be like; No borders, no taxes, no elections, no insurance, no politics, no man-made religion, no one telling you no because they’re tired or lazy, no laws of non-sense, no immigration, no language barriers, no denials in access. Free at last!
Imagine a life with the fullness of freedom; No worries leading to stress, no confusion leading to conflict, no rage leading to regret, no lust leading to shame, no loneliness leading to sorrow, no pride leading to selfishness, no miscommunication leading to anger, no temptation leading to sin Free at last!
Eternal life with Jesus Christ is the most important thing we can be thankful for. Let me encourage you, dream about it, reflect on it–seal those truths in your heart.
21 …the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. Romans 8:21 NIV
Reflections
If we insist on no rules in our personal lives then we just become a slave to whatever is trying to master us. If we surrender our tendencies and beliefs to GOD’s ways, we will experience more freedom. What is trying to master you?