“God Gives Me Freedom”
[Jesus speaking] “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.”
David, our summer intern, writes:
We live today in an increasingly lawless, amoral society, one in which you can do anything you want without fear of repercussion. There is tremendous freedom in this, and discerning what that freedom means for Christians has been a long struggle for me.
The Bible promises freedom for all followers of God, but yet imposes laws against certain actions and choices. Freedom, to most people today, means that we can do whatever we want. The Bible promises great freedom, yet tells us that there are many things we can’t do. What gives?
I began to understand when I happened one day upon Mark 8:35, when Jesus says, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.”
I had always thought of freedom as freedom to do whatever I wanted.
True freedom, though, the kind Jesus promises, is both “freedom to” and “freedom from.” Freedom from our earthly desires, our sin, our misguided selfishness. These things lead only to our own destruction, but Jesus promises that if we put our life in his hands, he will free us from them.
Once we turn over control of our lives, and God has reoriented our hearts, we are free to do what is right, what is best for us, and what is best for others.
By learning to trust in God for my own care and salvation, I will be able to selflessly love God and love others the way I am called to.
When we commit ourselves completely to God’s care, we have the freedom to be who we are called to be, and to experience the true joy of living in God’s presence.
Please note that the views expressed in this story are not necessarily the views of the American Bible Society. Story posted on June 16th, 2008 and filed under Team Corner, Hope, Praise, Your Stories, Struggles.
June 16th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Dear David, summer intern:
May I first and foremost congratulate you to be in the best–and blessed–working environment.
On 4/5/2008 20:26:25 Eastern Daylight Time, I received, totally unexpectedly but gratefully surprised, an email
Re: Just checkin’ in …
“Do you have any prayer requests? Our team would love to pray for you. From your Community Host Mr. Andy Padjen.”
I spontaneously reacted: “How thoughtful and caring Shareyourstorynow.org is!”
Nonetheless, I ‘arrogantly’ replied:
“I have been behaving myself, and
GOD ALL MIGHTY has kept me contented with all the blessings I could ever ask for.”
This mentality is due to nothing less than my submisstion to [Jesus speaking] “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (Also Matthew 16:25; Luke 9:25)
My living Christ has power over all my spiritual foes, and He delivers me from all temptations and trials.
My life depends on that of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
“Because I live, ye shall live also” (John 14:19).
Thank you.
May GOD ALL MIGHTY Bless you; and
GODSPEED!
Mary Sun.
June 16th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
I couldn’t agree more. During my college years I really rebelled against a lot of the principles my parents had instilled in me. It wasn’t until my Junior year that I came to realization that I was so in the wrong for doing something that I thought was so “liberating.” I found my self in a jail of depression and anguish. My parents took me in and helped me out of it all, but my true freedom came from Him… not anything else that was material. God was more tangible to me than anything else I had sought after.
June 18th, 2008 at 9:58 am
David,
One of my favorite verses (too many to pick just one). Thanks for sharing about being true to who God calls us to be. It was a good reminder today and came at just the right time–I love it when God does that. I’m very excited to have you contributing to the site and look forward to hearing more about what God continues to teach you during your internship at ABS.
Welcome to the team!
In Christ,
Scott