I heard a great quote once again on a recent LLR subscription cd and I was reminded of how true this is. The quote is originally from the great Roman thinker, Sacrates.
"the truly free individual is free only to the extent of his own self-mastery."
The principle of life still holds true: If you want something, you are going to have to work for it. We say that it is great to have freedom, that we should help get more people free. But if we don't help them earn it, freedom will soon be lost, given willingly to those that work for it.
I wonder though...does this hold true for Christians? We are given freedom in Christ. There are no requirements on us. But the bible also says we willingly become slaves to Christ, because of what He has done to save us from our lost condition. However, it is not the obedience that brings freedom, but the freedom that brings obedience. The gift comes before the action. Does this only work for God?
Aaahaa! Christ did the work of full obedience to God's law. He earned our freedom similar to Socrates' principle above. But then Christ gives us freedom (something which Socrates knew nothing about), in which our proper response is thankful obedience. Some choose to abuse this freedom, reject God's gift, and eventually lose their freedom when God must finally judge them justly for their actions.
It seems that in our sinfully deteriorated societies, we need rules to discipline ourselves, because we lack the rule of God's love in our hearts. You either submit to God's will (freedom) or you reject God's will (slavery). If we were in perfect unity with God, we would be perfectly free. And if we abuse our freedom in Christ, we choose the path of slavery to sin, punishment, and death.
I guess what I am getting at is this: Self-mastery is good and will earn you freedom in this world, but Christ-mastery is great and will lead to freedom both now and in eternity!
Christ, please always be my Master, Lord, and Mentor!
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