"Since we have been forgiven by Jesus forever,
we can do anything we want."
We have been talking about the freedom that we
have in Christ and how His death and resurrection were given to set us free.
But does our freedom and our forgiveness give us permission to go out and do
whatever we want?
Think about it: Many of us are blessed with
spouses who love us unconditionally in the
1 Cor. 13 manner. Does this mean we are free to do whatever we want,
even if it will hurt our loving spouses? Not at all. Rather, we will do
anything to please our spouse. In the same way, when we begin to comprehend
the depth and the height and the width and the breath of the love of God,
when we come to understand, even in a small way, the magnanimity of Jesus'
gift for us, we find ourselves not wanting to hurt God with willful sin!
Remember: Jesus showed us ultimate love on the
cross. He died as an innocent lamb, so that people who accept Him will be
forgiven and will live forever and ever with Him. There was no other way for
us to be saved. Rather than wanting to do our own thing and exercise our
right to be free to do whatever we want, we find ourselves desiring to
follow the Jesus' way: "Be completely humble and gentle; Be patient, bearing
with one another in love." (Eph. 4:2 NIV); "My command is this: Love each
other as I have loved you." (John 15:12 NIV); "So now faith, hope, and love
abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13
NIV)
Jesus IS love. He always WILL BE love. If we love
Jesus, we will follow Him, we will desire to please Him, we will desire to
obey Him.
What does Jesus Himself say about those who truly
love Him? "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are
blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you
since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something
to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger
and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and
you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the
righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger
and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you
sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'Truly I
tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and
sisters of mine, you did for me.'" (Matt 25:34-40 NIV)
Remember, whenever we do something for others, we
are doing it for Jesus. Wow! Isn't that amazing! And the more we walk with
Jesus, the more we will be like Jesus. We will never desire to criticize, to
mock, to ridicule others. We will become more and more like Jesus, always
caring for others. We are now part of God's family.
I once had a student who a real rebel. He went
through the classroom breaking things that belonged to other students and
destroying their class projects. He was disruptive, he was a bully, and he
made it very clear he hated all of us and didn't want to be there.
I decided to take a risk. Whenever my class went
to gym, I would keep him behind. I would show him kindness and help him with
his school work. Over time, we began to see a change in this student. He
began to be more friendly and his fits of temper lessened in intensity and
frequency.
One day that student came to me and he said, "Mr.
Chaffart, I understand now. When you show love, you will see that love
starting to work on everyone else."
I couldn't agree more. Whenever we do things for
Jesus, there are amazing results. And why not? Isn't this, after all, the
Jesus way?
Trust in God, love Him with all your heart, mind,
soul and spirit, and you will see how suddenly you will desire to follow the
Jesus way!
Rob Chaffart