Freedom — From Your Former Life – Monday
TODAY’S VERSE
Acts 13:38-39
Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. (ESV)
Arguably the greatest sermon I’ve ever heard preached was on a horse farm in the Arizona desert. It was my senior year of college, and I was taking part in a ministry residency in Phoenix. Roughly fifty of us showed up one morning to watch a man named Lew train a horse while he taught on the importance of discipline and relational connection in our lives with Jesus.
The sermon began with Lew standing alone in the middle of a circular pen, and a filly standing on one side.
The first step was to familiarize the horse with this new set of boundaries (in this instance, a fence). And the way to do so, according to Lew, was to say “no” in the form of cracking a whip in the air on either side of the horse in order to move her to other parts of the fence. At first, the filly would do whatever it took to avoid the opposite side of the pen by cutting across the middle and returning to her starting point, but eventually Lew got her to stand still at the other end of the circle.
And that’s when he said, “The whole point of saying ‘no’ and establishing boundaries is not because freedom is found in following rules, but because freedom is found when she realizes that the rules are leading to a relationship within the fence.” What happened next took my breath away.
He began to say “no” once more, but this time to test her obedience by getting her to run circles around the pen and even change directions at his command. After a few minutes of making her run in circles, he (with all the confidence in the world) walked back to the middle of the pen, looked at us in the crowd, and said, “In three seconds her nose will be right here (pointing to his right ear).” He counted to three with his fingers, and no sooner than his ring finger extended into the air did she do exactly as he predicted. He smiled and said, “I have her now.” My jaw is rumored to still be rolling among the tumbleweed in the Grand Canyon State.
Jesus once said to a group of people well-acquainted with the Law of Moses, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (John 5:39-40).
The law was never intended to set Israel free. A relationship with the Law Giver was. But they became so enamored with the fence that they couldn’t recognize the one the fence was pointing to (John 5:30-47).
Do you know what happened after the filly was fully trained that day? She left the fence. She was free to run with the guidance of her new leader. So are we.
APPLICATION
Take a moment to reflect on the health of your relationship with Jesus. Where are you experiencing freedom? Where are you experiencing doubt, confusion, or bondage?
PRAYER
Lord, help me to never lose sight of the freedom that can only be found in relationship with You.