Freedom — From Your Former Life – Tuesday
TODAY’S VERSE
Galatians 1:6
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. (ESV)
I recognize that what I am about to confess will cause many of you to close your ears to the rest of what I have written below, but I ask that you live in accordance with Ephesians 4:32 towards me…
Here goes nothing…
I am an Ohio State Buckeyes fan. Being born and raised in Ohio and attending the same high school as AJ Hawk, Kirk Herbstreit, and a host of others basically gave me no chance to avoid this reality. I hope you can forgive me.
With that said, I have spent my entire life watching Ohio State football. And at the peak of my interest and attention, Jim Tressel was their coach. Don’t get me wrong, he was a great coach (the dude went 9-1 against the team who shall not be named, and even brought home a national championship). But there was one thing that always drove me crazy about his coaching: whenever they got ahead in a game, they seemed to always shift gears and play more to avoid losing the game rather than continuing to do the things that had gained them the lead. Playing conservative and risk-averse football was actually a main component of his coaching strategy, so much so that it earned the nickname “Tressel Ball.”
It never made sense to me. Why would you stop doing the very things that created such a lead over your opponent and then let them creep their way back in? As a fan, it was frustrating and stressful.
That makes me wonder how much it must grieve our Father in Heaven to watch His church do the very same thing each day. We still desert the gospel every time we look for our identity outside of Jesus. He has already secured the victory on the eternal scoreboard through the empty tomb. And He even gave us the playbook to live in light of that victory: stay relationally connected to Him.
But what do we do? We attempt to control and maintain our newfound freedom by trying to make a religion out of what is meant to be a relationship, but it will never work. According to Jesus, it’s like trying to put new wine into an old wineskin; it’s gonna end up in a mess every time (Matthew 9:14-17).
APPLICATION
Take a moment today to reflect on the ways you are trying to find freedom through religion rather than relationship. Ask for the Spirit’s guidance and strength to walk in step with Him.
PRAYER
Father, forgive us for how quickly we desert our connection to You to chase after things that offer false security and hope. Help us to better hear Your constant invitations to rest in and draw near to Your presence in everything we do.