“Wild and Free”
It’s said that Christianity is narrow-minded…one-sided…full of hypocrites. But in fact, it’s the opposite. It’s freedom–freedom in Christ! It’s giving over everything that is holding us down and restricting us to Him. It’s asking Him to break us of the chains of guilt, fear, anger, addiction, jealously, greed, anxiety, control, doubt…and the list goes on.
In verses 5-6, Paul uses these sharp words of contrast: “death,” “crucified,” “slaves”…and then there is “free”. We can give sin over to God, for He has already endured for us.
2 Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” What sin is breaking me down? What are my struggles? Have I invited the Spirit in to dwell in me? Let us go boldly to the throne, asking God to break our chains!
Sometimes I go straight to myself and ask myself, “How can I rid myself of this guilt or anxiety? How can I overcome my struggles? I need a three step process, right?” And in fact, it’s nothing I can do, nor want to do. But thankfully, I can give it over to Christ. Instead of focusing on how I can change my behavior or how much I am not succeeding at changing, I can give it to the Lord through prayer and petition and allow Him to change me as a natural result of following Him.
I can cry out Daniel’s prayer when he lays it all out on the table in Daniel 9: “O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” In essence, he is saying, “Lord, we are sinful and shameful…hear our cry anyway!” He doesn’t take the time to try to work it out in his head or make excuses.
Next, think of Peter stepping out of the boat to walk to Jesus (Matthew 14:28-31). When his focus was on the external things–water, wind, what he was doing–and not on Jesus, he began to sink, but when he focused directly on Jesus he could do it.
Understanding what it means to live wild and free in Christ is not about sin control but about hearing God’s voice and submitting to him. Let us continue to turn our eyes upon Jesus!
