Stay Free

Daily Gratitude Year 7-Day 194: Today, I am grateful we can stay free. 

What does it mean to be free and stay free? For those of us in the USA, freedom is something highly valued and fiercely defended. Still, there must be laws and guidelines to help us live peacefully and fruitfully with the people around us. 

Some laws are nuts. There are some strange laws in my state of Illinois. A few will make you say "What?". Take a peak:

https://www.pantagraph.com/entertainment/the-weirdest-laws-in-illinois/collection_cd8ecb82-0f89-57bd-8f08-34b86f8ee192.html#16


Don't make soap in Normal, IL without a license and don't pee on the street signs. Both are illegal. If you live in Galesburg, you can't keep a smelly dog. Smelly cats are, apparently, allowed. Who comes up with these laws? Most of them have a very old history, that at the time, made perfect sense. 

Today, if you get a soap making kit for Christmas and you live in Normal, I don't think you will be arrested... but the law still stands. You may still be arrested for peeing on a street sign. This behavior is as frowned on today as much as it was 100 years ago. Laws are created, most of the time, with the general public's best interest in mind (not always... but most of the time). 

When we consider our freedom in Christ, I love this verse:

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. -Galatians 5:1

What ties us up and steals our joy in Jesus. He died to free us? Then, again, Jesus clearly stated that he didn't come to abolish the law, but to fulfill its purpose:

In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. -Matthew 5:16-18

He knew the law. He understood God's holy and just nature demanded blood for the atonement of sins. The part of his nature that is love came up with the solution. He took on human skin but maintained his divine nature so that he could be the perfect lamb to set us free from the exhausting labor of attempting keep the law perfectly. We have a loving Heavenly Father who would not give up on his rebellious children. Love found a way. 

The scripture declares that He wants us to "stay free"!  Do we tie ourselves in knots over the legalism? We are called to live our lives as an offering...holy and acceptable to the Lord our God. (Romans 12:1) Being free of the law is not permission to live without laws or boundaries. Humans needs limits and boundaries. They help us love each other more fully and they help us reflect God's love. But when the choice comes down to extending the law or extending love. Jesus always choose love. 

The instruction is to not be so caught up in the legalism that we put our trust in the law to make us right with God. If that worked as a plan... Jesus died for nothing. 

I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” -Galatians 2:21

We are free!  Grace upon grace. Morning after morning. Savor it. Cherish it. Let it set a fire that burns in our souls that drives us to share this amazing gift with others. 

Today, I am grateful we can stay free.