Freedom!
[WARNING: This post contains links to some amazing videos. If you click on one, you will want to click on more. It's recommended you don't start watching all of them until you have some time to kill. CONTROL YOURSELF. Just watch the 2 that I link to!]
I found out about Devin Super Tramp years ago with this video. Completely amazing, right? He finds people doing crazy things and manages to put them on video perfectly to music.
Well, recently I came across this one. Please watch it right now. My first reaction was, "I WANT TO DO THAT!!!" It looked so fun! But over the next several days I kept contemplating that there was some deeper meaning of that video for me.
And then it hit me: It's the perfect visual for Psalm 119:32, which says,
"I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free," (NIV)
"I will run in the way of thy commandments, When thou shalt enlarge my heart," (ASV)
"I will [not merely walk, but run] the way of Your commandments, when you give me a heart that is willing," (AMP)
The people in the Indiana Jones video are having a blast! They're loving their experience! They are flying through life at breakneck speed!
But they are completely protected by that giant blow-up ball. They have no fear. They live in freedom because of their boundaries.
This is what obeying God does for you.
I know how some people live. They see God as a good thing, but He's such a drag. No fun.
You couldn't be farther from the truth. He is the wildest ride you can imagine. And I've said it before: there is nothing that brings a true, lasting thrill like an experience with Jesus. No regrets, no hiding. Just pure joy.
So it goes like this: God gives us a heart that is "willing," (AMP, see above). And He gives us the desire to obey Him. AND OUR LIVES BECOME A WILD RIDE. This is not the impression many church people give. Some make it look like being a Christian is following a bunch of rules, saying no to fun and excitement and adventure.
I'll say it again: They couldn't be farther from the truth.
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free," (Galatians 5:1). And "if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed," (John 8:36). WE ARE MADE TO BE FREE. Free from sin! Free from punishment! Free from guilt and despair and hopelessness! Free from the slavery that comes from believing the lies that evil things are more fun.
FREE. To run in the path of His commands.
Now, you saw the fences on each side of the giant ball. [By the way, if anyone finds where that place is and how I can ride down it, PLEASE let me know.] The fences were there for a good reason. You can't just push that huge ball down the hill; it could be a disaster. Nobody questions the fences. Nobody says, "Man, if those fences weren't there, we could REALLY have some fun!" Nope; the fences keep you safe.
So does obedience.
You have SO MUCH freedom in Christ. Some of the craziest adventure-seekers I know LOVE THE LORD with their heart and soul and mind and have a blast in everything they do. But they obey Christ IN IT. Because if you take fun without obedience, you've got a recipe for disaster. Heartache. Sin. Idolatry.
There is nothing that compares to living--LIVING!--in Christ. The peace, the protection, the power, the understanding, the love, the EXCITEMENT are more than you can ever imagine.
Is this not how following Christ seems to you?
Maybe try this:
I found out about Devin Super Tramp years ago with this video. Completely amazing, right? He finds people doing crazy things and manages to put them on video perfectly to music.
Well, recently I came across this one. Please watch it right now. My first reaction was, "I WANT TO DO THAT!!!" It looked so fun! But over the next several days I kept contemplating that there was some deeper meaning of that video for me.
And then it hit me: It's the perfect visual for Psalm 119:32, which says,
"I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free," (NIV)
"I will run in the way of thy commandments, When thou shalt enlarge my heart," (ASV)
"I will [not merely walk, but run] the way of Your commandments, when you give me a heart that is willing," (AMP)
The people in the Indiana Jones video are having a blast! They're loving their experience! They are flying through life at breakneck speed!
But they are completely protected by that giant blow-up ball. They have no fear. They live in freedom because of their boundaries.
This is what obeying God does for you.
I know how some people live. They see God as a good thing, but He's such a drag. No fun.
You couldn't be farther from the truth. He is the wildest ride you can imagine. And I've said it before: there is nothing that brings a true, lasting thrill like an experience with Jesus. No regrets, no hiding. Just pure joy.
So it goes like this: God gives us a heart that is "willing," (AMP, see above). And He gives us the desire to obey Him. AND OUR LIVES BECOME A WILD RIDE. This is not the impression many church people give. Some make it look like being a Christian is following a bunch of rules, saying no to fun and excitement and adventure.
I'll say it again: They couldn't be farther from the truth.
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free," (Galatians 5:1). And "if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed," (John 8:36). WE ARE MADE TO BE FREE. Free from sin! Free from punishment! Free from guilt and despair and hopelessness! Free from the slavery that comes from believing the lies that evil things are more fun.
FREE. To run in the path of His commands.
Now, you saw the fences on each side of the giant ball. [By the way, if anyone finds where that place is and how I can ride down it, PLEASE let me know.] The fences were there for a good reason. You can't just push that huge ball down the hill; it could be a disaster. Nobody questions the fences. Nobody says, "Man, if those fences weren't there, we could REALLY have some fun!" Nope; the fences keep you safe.
So does obedience.
You have SO MUCH freedom in Christ. Some of the craziest adventure-seekers I know LOVE THE LORD with their heart and soul and mind and have a blast in everything they do. But they obey Christ IN IT. Because if you take fun without obedience, you've got a recipe for disaster. Heartache. Sin. Idolatry.
There is nothing that compares to living--LIVING!--in Christ. The peace, the protection, the power, the understanding, the love, the EXCITEMENT are more than you can ever imagine.
Is this not how following Christ seems to you?
Maybe try this:
- Ask God for a willing heart, one that yearns for His Word and understanding.
- Start by doing the things you already know you should be doing: throw off evil. Forgive. Love. Control your mouth. (Just those things should keep you busy for a while!) But as He reveals His will to you, OBEY!
- RUN in His commands. Don't tiptoe. Don't stand still. Look around you at all the thrilling things you can do now that you have FREEDOM in Jesus! Trust that God made you for fun. For adventure. For joy. For excitement
- Watch the Indiana Jones video every day :) Ask God to give you faith like a Devin Super Tramp movie!
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