Fun and Freedom
Two main thoughts today.
First, freedom: and the responsibilities contained therein.
I was thinking this morning about freedom, when Mark got back from his exam early.
Anyhow, I didn't realize until recently just how much freedom we have as Christians. I am referring to a broad concept, but Paul brushes on it in I Corinthians 8. He talks about food offered to idols and such, and concludes by saying that if it makes a brother stumble, he'll never again eat meat, even though we have the freedom to do that.
I was thinking about that, and also thinking about other freedoms we have as Christians. And I remembered the common cop-out that people use against Christianity: that Christians have too many rules to follow.
And I thought to myself, "Au contraire: we have so few rules!"
The longer I consider it, the more I realize that, in ways, I wish we had been given MORE rules! Because there are several things that pertain to a 23-year-old man that the Bible is quiet about.
So much freedom brings about a huge burden of responsibility.
___________________________________________
Second, fun: and the disappointing, temporal nature thereof.
I was driving back from Wal Mart just minutes ago (seconds, in fact, before I nearly took out a Cadillac Brougham, which would have been VERY ugly for my small Ford had I not swerved around him) and had some thoughts about fun.
Fun is something I seek. I plan for it, get excited about it, and take a bajillion pictures of it just to make it last 'forever'.
But fun can't last forever.
In spite of how much joy I get from taking and looking at photos, the fun contained in them cannot be perpetuated indefinitely.
I wouldn't say that I seek the wrong kinds of fun. I don't. When I seek fun, I seek the joy of others. To me, watching other people enjoy themselves is great fun. Watching people swim, or play volleyball, or play baseball, or fix airplanes... it's fun to watch that.
I also have things I do for fun on my own, certainly. Those things have changed considerably throughout the last six years, too.
But what I have learned recently on this subject is that I need to seek His holy joy. Fun is great, and the Lord wants us to have fun, I'm convinced. But joy is even better. Joy lasts forever.
I hope you're joyful. The Lord has given you salvation--whether you've taken it or not--and there's tremendous joy in that.
First, freedom: and the responsibilities contained therein.
I was thinking this morning about freedom, when Mark got back from his exam early.
Anyhow, I didn't realize until recently just how much freedom we have as Christians. I am referring to a broad concept, but Paul brushes on it in I Corinthians 8. He talks about food offered to idols and such, and concludes by saying that if it makes a brother stumble, he'll never again eat meat, even though we have the freedom to do that.
I was thinking about that, and also thinking about other freedoms we have as Christians. And I remembered the common cop-out that people use against Christianity: that Christians have too many rules to follow.
And I thought to myself, "Au contraire: we have so few rules!"
The longer I consider it, the more I realize that, in ways, I wish we had been given MORE rules! Because there are several things that pertain to a 23-year-old man that the Bible is quiet about.
So much freedom brings about a huge burden of responsibility.
___________________________________________
Second, fun: and the disappointing, temporal nature thereof.
I was driving back from Wal Mart just minutes ago (seconds, in fact, before I nearly took out a Cadillac Brougham, which would have been VERY ugly for my small Ford had I not swerved around him) and had some thoughts about fun.
Fun is something I seek. I plan for it, get excited about it, and take a bajillion pictures of it just to make it last 'forever'.
But fun can't last forever.
In spite of how much joy I get from taking and looking at photos, the fun contained in them cannot be perpetuated indefinitely.
I wouldn't say that I seek the wrong kinds of fun. I don't. When I seek fun, I seek the joy of others. To me, watching other people enjoy themselves is great fun. Watching people swim, or play volleyball, or play baseball, or fix airplanes... it's fun to watch that.
I also have things I do for fun on my own, certainly. Those things have changed considerably throughout the last six years, too.
But what I have learned recently on this subject is that I need to seek His holy joy. Fun is great, and the Lord wants us to have fun, I'm convinced. But joy is even better. Joy lasts forever.
I hope you're joyful. The Lord has given you salvation--whether you've taken it or not--and there's tremendous joy in that.
posted by Elmo at 2:54 PM
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