Accept - March 3, 2013

"Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?"

What thoughts, feelings or images come to mind when you hear the word FREEDOM?

Let's play a game that you never played before.  I know that you haven't played it before because it hasn't been created yet.  I'm giving you a few minutes to design a game using a ball. There is one stipulation... your game may not have any rules.  It must be a freestyle game, because this session is about freedom. 

What did you think or feel when I told you no rules?
What was it like to design a game with no rules?
Consider the game of football.  What are some of the rules of the game?  Could you play football without rules? 
What are some of the rules you have to follow at home? at school? among your friends?
Why are rules helpful and important in life?

We're talking about freedom because it is part of the second confirmation vow.  "Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?"

Freedom is a gift from God.  Our free will allows us to use this freedom to accept God's grace or resist it.  But as we could see from our game experiment, freedom without rules or discipline is a disaster. 

What things are you free to do but will not be able to do if you aren't disciplined?  Examples might be that you are free to become musicians, athletes, surgeons, etc. but you will not achieve these skills without extraordinary discipline.  Lack of discipline can place limits on what we can do and actually makes us less free.  Too often we think of discipline as something that constrains or limits us; it usually not something that we think of when we think of freedom.  But discipline is more like training.  As Christians who accept God's gift of freedom, we need to understand that the more disciplined we are, the better equipped we are to do the work that God calls us to do and to live the abundant life that God desires for us.  Using one's free will without training, practice, and accountability that come from spiritual disciplines and a Christian community, often results in self-centered pursuits that do not bear fruit.  Accepting God's freedom also means accepting Christian discipline and accountability. 

Romans 8: 1-5 - What is this scripture telling us?  Christ sets us free from sin and death, and what the law was powerless to do, Christ's sacrifice was able to do.  If we let the Spirit live in us, and yield to life in the Spirit, you obey His law.  The law becomes easier to follow when we are living with the Spirit.