I was up late last night thinking about what it really means for me to follow Jesus and why it even matters. I was processing what the point of it all even is and how I could articulate this to someone who doesn't quite get the point of following Jesus. And though I feel like it's kind of weird for me to share this simplified story on a blog post, but I think it is important to be able to have a version of your own story that you have processed and then condensed so you can genuinely talk about it anywhere.

This is my story...in a very, very small nutshell:

I was 3 years old when I became a follower of Jesus. So my life before Jesus consisted of learning to walk, run, and ski. However, I distinctly remember the exact time and place when and where I put my trust in Jesus. I was in the hallway between my bedroom and the kitchen. I was there on the ground talking with my dad about Jesus and salvation and I decided right then that this was a life I wanted.

Even though, I was young when I became a follower in Jesus, that simple decision has had a profound impact on my life. I can’t claim that I was messed up before Jesus began to rule my life and then I changed because I didn’t have a ton of will power before 3 years old, and because I have been messed up pretty much my entire life - even after becoming a follower of Jesus. 

But the thing that has profoundly impacted my life is the reality of grace in every space of my life. I can never outrun the grace of God and I can never out-sin the grace of God, no matter how many times I think I have. Knowing that there is a God with a love so vast and inclusive as to love me to the point of death has captured my fascination and continually draws me to Jesus. 

Even though it is taking me a long time and the process is very messy, I am slowly becoming more like Jesus and I wouldn’t trade this life for an easier one. I can be real with a God who will never give up on me. I can have the hope of glory. And I can walk in confidence, knowing that my massive list of imperfections has already been forgiven and forgotten. And now I can know the God of the entire Universe...on a personal level! And this makes it worth it all.

The verses that have left the biggest mark on my life are Romans 5:8...

"God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!"

... and 2 Corinthians 3:5...

"Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God!"

What's your story?

Freedom.

We all want freedom. We want to be unchained, unbound, and unharnessed.

But freedom isn't what we often think it is. And it doesn't come from where we often think it comes from.

This is the definition of a paradox:

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

Often the concept of freedom can be a paradox. We think it seems obvious to understand, but the lived reality is actually the opposite of what we first thought. It is counter-intuitive.

Here are 3 paradoxes of freedom:

Paradox #1 - Freedom does not mean doing whatever you want. The thing we usually hear in our culture is that freedom means doing whatever you want to do. It means living it up without any restrictions. It means not listening to anybody tell you what to do. It means creating your own destiny. But this couldn't be further from the truth.

Imagine a sleek, new train moving down the tracks at top speed. It is exhilarating to watch. But if that train got it in its train mind (it that were possible) that it wanted to be like the tractors in the nearby field, and jumped the tracks to turn up the sod in the field, what would happen? It would get stuck. Is that train free, even though it did exactly what it wanted to do? No. Why? It wasn't made to go on the land. It was made to move down the tracks at top speeds.

Freedom does not mean doing whatever you want to do; it means doing what you were made to do. You will never find freedom from a wild, limitless pursuit of all kinds of pleasure. You will only end up dissatisfied, empty, and still wanting more. You will only ever find freedom when you begin to live your God-defined calling and when you find satisfaction from a personal relationship with Jesus. That is what you were made to do; that is what will give you true freedom.

Paradox #2 - You can be a slave to your misconception of freedom. The pursuit of greater and never-ending pleasure is capable of sucking you in and enslaving you. As stated above, you cannot find freedom from a wild, limitless pursuit of all kinds of pleasure. Why? It leaves you dissatisfied, empty, and still wanting more. Why? Because pleasure wasn't created to fill the God-sized void in your heart. It was merely meant to point you to an all-loving and good Creator.

Only Jesus can fill that void in your heart. And the more you run in circles, trying to find that perfect experience to set you free and the more you throw the shackles off and try to find your freedom on your own, the more you will become caught up in the pursuit of pleasure. When you look back, you will realize that you were sucked in and that you were indeed, enslaved. How can I be so confident? I have been there. I was a slave to my pursuit of the ever-elusive experience of freedom...until I got to know Jesus.

Paradox #3 - Our freedom isn't free. Much like the freedom enjoyed in the USA was not just handed over to us but earned through great sacrifice, our personal freedom was not free and isn't held onto easily. Jesus gave up everything to purchase our freedom for us (cf. Gal. 3:13, Col 1:14, 1 Tim. 2:6).

I think we often take this concept of freedom very lightly. After all, you shouldn't have to worry about anything when you're free, right? Not really... There is an enemy who hates us and wants to screw us over as much as he possibly can while he still exists. And there is no end to which he won't go to try to ruin this relationship we have with the Creator. It was bought with a great price, and sometimes it requires a great effort on our part to stay close to our Creator.

"Keep on working to complete your salvation with fear and trembling, because it is God working in you to help you to want to do - and to be able to do - what pleases him." Philippians 2:12-13

I was recently reading in John 1 about the Word that became flesh (Jesus). And John said something in beginning of the chapter that I haven't been able to get out of my head since. He said in John 1:17,

"For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ."

A slave only knows the Law. He only hears the voice of the Law - telling him he either succeeded or failed. He only feels the affirmation of the Law - what the Law keepers defined to be good or bad. It is slavery to be defined by the Law and the Law keepers - even if you are doing a good job!

But the free person knows something greater than the Law. The free person, knows Grace and Truth. The free person lives in Grace and Truth. The free person finds his affirmation in the unchanging Truth and lives with an unreasonable Grace. The free person might know the Law, but chooses to be defined by a reality that is far superior - a relationship with Jesus - the personification of Grace and Truth.

This sets him free.

Jesus sets him free.

For those of you struggling to be free, realize that your freedom comes from Jesus. You can't just fight the darkness around you. It doesn't work that way. You need to turn the light on. You need to turn to Jesus.

And in your journey of freedom, I would love to be an encouragement to you as much as I can! So drop me an email, or leave a comment below. I would love to get to know you and hear your story. Until then, God bless!