Freedom from Rules
By Meg Bucher
“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7 NLT
Parents quickly understand the necessity of rules in order to keep their children safe. When toddlers, the rules are simple but often life or death! Rules like don’t run out into the street; don’t touch a hot stove; don’t run into a burning campfire; don’t jump into the water without a life jacket before you can swim …don’t get lost. When they reach school age, the rules include manners- respecting their teachers and other adults in their lives; and honesty, studying hard for tests instead of peering over another classmate’s paper. As they grow older, the rules become a more tangled mess of morality we, ourselves, struggle alongside our kin to maintain. At any age, rules more often allow us to become the best version of ourselves rather than inhibiting us from experiencing life to the full.
A rule, as a noun, is defined as a principle or regulation governing conduct, action, procedure, arrangement, etc. As a verb, to rule means to control or direct; exercise domination power, authority, or influence over; govern. The heading before today’s verses, in the NLT translation of the Bible, reads: “Freedom from Rules and New Life in Christ.” Jesus didn’t come to abolish the necessary growth we obtain through following rules; He came so that we would benefit from complete obedience, even though we cannot obtain perfection this side of heaven. Christ Jesus makes up for our lack.
Freedom from Rules.
“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.” Matthew 5:17 NLT
Freedom from rules, through Christ, releases the pressure of a burden we can never live up to. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, willing to walk out the will of His Father to free us from the burden of our own sin …and lack. Though our hearts are often in the right place as we wake each day to follow Jesus, we carry with us an entanglement of sin that trips into our daily lives and rolls over into our confession of them in the next. Grace-filled and unfailing in love for us, God made a way for us to be forgiven and a chance to repent …to change.
A seedling planted in the ground makes its way up through the soil and breaks through to see the sun. Our lives are a continual process of blooming where we are planted. “Paul uses the illustration of our being rooted in Christ,” the Life Application Bible explains, “Just as plants draw nourishment from the soil through their roots, we draw our life-giving strength from Christ. The more we draw our strength from him, the less we will be fooled or entangled by those who falsely claim to have life’s answers apart from Christ.”
New Life in Christ.
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” - Romans 8:1 NLT
Today’s verses encourage us to keep straining for the light and to let our roots grow down into him. Plants that return year after year spread out each time they come back to life in the Spring. I like to plant things that tend to grow and spread out without my lack of a green thumb to hinder them. What begins as a spacious garden soon overflows with fresh wildflowers. I love giving nature a space to take over in my yard and plodding out to pick fresh blooms each day as more and more cut through to the light of the sun.
Our lives are new every day, just as God’s mercy is new every day. He is faithful to complete His promise of our new life in Christ. We are a new creation in Him, and it doesn’t happen overnight! A bulk of the change occurs progressively over time, season after season, and year after year. “New life in Christ starts and continues when we acknowledge him as leader over all we are and do,” the Life Application Study Bible explains, “Then we must accept his leadership daily by being rooted, built up, and strengthened in the faith.”
Intersecting Faith and Life:
“He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who where near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” Ephesians 2:17-20 NLT
Today’s verses talk of overflowing with thankfulness as a result of the truth we are being taught. Gratitude is a natural by-product of knowing God. It’s impossible to know Him and not be able to grasp gratitude, even in the worst and hardest of times.
Today’s beautiful verses, written by the apostle Paul, remind us of the amazing gift we have as we embrace life within the love of Christ. If ever we feel burdened by rules, we can be assured the guilt is not rooted in Him! But freedom is. We are free to admit our weaknesses, run to Him in our lack, and know without a doubt He sacrifices His perfect life so we could live ours to the full. He is with us, always. Let’s release the pressure, follow Jesus, allow our roots to grow down in Him, and our lives be built on Him. Let’s embrace the promise Paul penned: Then our faith will grow strong in the truth we are taught, and we will overflow with thankfulness.
Further Reading:
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