Tuesday, November 18, 2008
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A group of Christians in and around Albuquerque, NM that are asking old questions in a new way.
Get Together
We generally meet the 3rd Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm at the Fuddrucker's in Coronado mall.
For more info please see our facebook group page.
For more info please see our facebook group page.
Posts
6 comments:
When I think about what it means to be "free in Christ", it's about not being confined to be what the world wants me to be. Even if I'm backed into the corner, I don't have to react in a way that's predictable to this world. In fact, if I'm in relationship with my Lord, my hope is that I'll lean on His grace and guidance in that moment and make His love evident to the world without saying a single word. I have options and I share the burden with the One who I belong to. Thanks for the questions, Alli.
When I think of freedom in Christ I think of being free from worry and anxiety. I'm not very good at always eliminating those factors from my life, but somehow, somewhere within me, it's like there is a spiritual safety net under me at all times. I could call that safety net the "arms of Jesus" because no matter what I can fall into the net/arms and be safe (and free!).
Great input, guys, thanks! I am blessed so much by hearing your ideas on things.
When I think of what it means to be free in Christ, I think about "being allowed," if you will, to be who I am in Christ, in all my uniqueness, at a given moment in time by others manifesting their own Christ-like and idiosyncratic uniquenesses. After being with others, especially other followers of Jesus, my hope is to come away from an experience without feeling like I screwed-up again simply by being myself. Sure, I screw-up plenty (say...by saying something irrelevant at an inopportune time, what have you....).
I know that I have a rather sensitive nature and I should always be mindful of this reality about myself, yet at the same time it doesn't give others permission to be hurtful and condescending, especially over differences of opinion relating to spiritual matters. As much as I am aware that Jesus loved the Pharisees, I am glad that he made it known to them how hard their hearts could be at times. By the way, I'm glad that He makes me aware of those times in my own life, as well.
And, I am so grateful for the love and respect that we all show toward one another when we meet each month. Talk about a gathering that promotes freedom in Christ!
Chris.
Maybe this is too much information but the night I wrote my blog post, I'd gone to a very ugly soccer parent meeting. Afterwards, I went out for a beer (or two) to calm down. When I got home, I posted about responding to conflict as a Follower of Jesus. This is a lesson for all - Don't drink and blog! HA! Have a great weekend. Alli
I've been contemplating your question for awhile now (I tend to do that), and here's where my mind has been drifting with it.
In Christ, we are given the freedom beyond the shackles that came from the Adam and Eve experience. We are free to live as God intended but still many choose to be bound by their own constraints (myself included). I often find it difficult to live free from guilt, indecision, anger, I could go on and on.
Now one of the questions I have been pondering is who exactly receives this freedom? Many Christians would probably state that only Christians have this privilege, but as we talked about at our last meeting, I really wonder about the judgments we make on others. I often find myself asking about the limits we put on all of the gifts we've been given as Christians (such as this concept of freedom in Christ).
I suppose that I would like a world that was less about limits and more about freedom, of course you can get in a pretty dangerous place with too much freedom too.
Overall, I trust that God will lead my path, but I have the freedom to choose which direction it goes. I just have to trust that all things will be for the glory of God which isn't always easy, but when I'm there and can really feel it, God's grace is abounding.
That is a good phrase to think about. I feel it at times, but I've never really though about it being 'free in Christ.' When I do feel it, I feel satisfied with my life at that moment. I don't feel any pressing agendas or thoughts, I just feel alright to be me. I like what Alli had to say and to add on to it, being 'free with Christ' makes me feel like the world probably wants more people that are 'free' in a different way besides American. Free emotionally, I guess you could say.
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