Learning to Play in the Freedom of the Gospel.
It is for freedom that we have been set free.
Waiting at the stoplight of a busy downtown intersection, I noticed a slow stream of people walking out of a nearby church building, casually making their way down the sidewalk toward the street corner in front of me. Two young little girls in light, softly-colored dresses were a few yards ahead of the group, holding hands, smiling brightly and talking with each other. As they approached the street, the crosswalk sign lit up in front of them. Without hesitation, they turned and began to cross in front of me. As they walked, one girl twirled and began walking backwards, smiling back at her friend, who was still animatedly talking and laughing. They were looking into each other’s eyes, and moving in unison, their minds, hearts, and bodies totally relaxed and focused on one another. Completely oblivious to the dirty, bustling city and the noisy traffic rushing around them, they were carefree and completely immersed in their own joy.
My heart smiled. When Jesus says He wants us to enter the kingdom of heaven like little children, I thought, this must be what He meant.
And, yet in spite of the fact that scripture declares it is for freedom that we have been set free, I wonder how often we feel the deep joy of that truth. How often do we delight, childlike, in the freedom of God?
Somewhere along the way, we lose this youthful exuberance, the unrestrained delight in being fully present, fully alive. As I watched these little girls delighting in the day and in one another, I couldn’t help but ask myself, when was the last time I had a moment like that?
When was the last time my heart felt that free?
I wonder how often we feel the deep joy of that truth. How often do we delight, childlike, in the freedom of God?
Why is it that our relationships become so much more complicated, as we get older? Why are we so resistant to let our guard down, to be in tune with one another, to freely express ourselves, to play?
In Redeeming Heartache, a deeply resonant book I read a few months ago, the authors talk about the ongoing cost of pain, trauma, and suffering in our lives and relationships. Something that has stuck with me is their statement that “a heart that cannot rest cannot play.”
As we experience broken relationships and the fallout from broken relationships, we become more and more in bondage to our heartache and our fears. We find it harder and harder to lay down the sword of hypervigilance around others. We slowly lose our ability to rest in the presence of one another. It no longer feels safe to play.
We no longer feel free.
A dear friend of mine opened my eyes to just how in bondage I had become to my own fears and anxieties in relationships, when I sought her wise counsel for an impending conflict I was preparing to have with a colleague. I remember sitting on her couch and talking to her for over an hour about all of my inhibitions and concerns. She sat in her reclining chair listening patiently, as I went on and on with all of my, “what do I do if this happens,” or “what if she takes this the wrong way?” thoughts. Finally, I said, “I’m just so afraid I’m going to get this wrong.”
A moment passed. And, then she said, “what if you do?”
“Do what?” I said.
“Get it wrong,” she replied.
Her simple question stayed in my mind for days afterward. I kept asking myself, “so, what if I do? What if I get it wrong?”
Finally, I realized why I was so anxious about this conversation. This relationship lacked grace. I could not trust that my colleague would be honest with me or that she would extend grace, if I “got it wrong.” While I was likely to receive anger, judgment, retaliation, I could not expect honesty, vulnerability, or mercy. Love is absent in an environment without grace. In the absence of grace, there can be no call to repentance nor forgiveness given in response. Without grace, there is no freedom, no trust, no rest. It’s not safe to be honest, to speak freely.
Without grace, there is no freedom, no trust, no rest.
As this realization washed over me, I felt my heart and body take a spiritual deep breath. I caught a glimpse of freedom, as I started to see that the only way to find freedom and rest was to remember where true freedom and rest comes from.
Jesus.
The gospel sets us free. We got it all wrong, and Jesus came to set things right. He offers us the free gift of grace.
There is a passage in Isaiah 55 that we often use when we can’t explain something about God’s will or His nature. But, it is so much more than that.
Verse 9 is often quoted, and states: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
But, if you read a few verses earlier, it says:
“Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord.”
Isaiah 55 is an invitation to redemption. It is an invitation into freedom, for the wicked and the unrighteous. God says He is merciful, and He will freely pardon them. Why? The Lord declares, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” God says, I know this isn’t your way. This isn’t how you think. But, my way is higher than yours. My grace is greater.
The gospel sets us free. We got it all wrong, and Jesus came to set things right. He offers us the free gift of grace.
The message of the gospel is that you can get it all wrong.
Can you feel the freedom?
How do we respond to our hearts and souls, when we hurt others or when others hurt us? When we face heartache or confrontation, and we feel the walls closing in around our joy, what can we do?
We remember that it is for freedom that Christ set us free.
We can play in the freedom of the gospel. We can apologize. We can forgive. We can expect grace, because grace has already been poured out freely upon us. If we can confidently approach the throne of God, we ought to be able to approach our own relationships with the same confidence and freedom. Jesus says, forgive others as I have forgiven you. Free yourself. Free others. The rest is not up to you.
We can play in the freedom of the gospel.
When we realize that it’s not about “getting it right,” it’s about loving others well, we free ourselves from the slavery of sin and pride.
People often say that freedom isn’t free, and we honor the lives of those who have sacrificed everything so that we can rest and play. May we also remember the One who sacrificed everything for our eternal freedom.
Yet, while we were still sinners, He died for us. He freely pardoned us. May we compel our hearts to rest in the beauty of this divine truth, and may we compel our hearts to extend that same free gift of grace to those around us.
People often say that freedom isn’t free, and we honor the lives of those who have sacrificed everything so that we can rest and play. May we also remember the One who sacrificed everything for our eternal freedom.
Like little children, may we live and play in the glorious freedom of God.
Friends, you are free! Can you feel it?
