Staying Free
I have been on a diet. I realized early on in the summer that I had gained some pesky pounds and that my clothes just didn’t fit as well as they should. I’m not a fan of dieting. I prefer to eat whatever I want (that I rationalize I am doing “within reason.” If I’m on a diet, I obviously don’t do that super well.) Diets have always been a struggle for me mainly because I am not a fan of salads, I prefer cheese. Just cheese: on everything, with everything, oh and ice cream, I love ice cream, and M&M’s, and corn, oh delicious sweet corn… hence my dilemma, hence the diet. I suppose I could’ve just bought new clothes. The problem there is that I have A LOT of clothes, and I actually like what’s in my closet! The thought of having to replace things, cute, adorable things, is a serious downer.
I am close to my weight loss goal (yeah!). I’m planning that Thanksgiving will be a “free day” and I’m going to enjoy what I eat. I have realized though that because I’ve eaten less sugary things and less super rich, cheesy food, those items don’t set as well with me if I over-indulge. Even though Thanksgiving is a “free day,” I will still need to be careful and eat within constructive boundaries. It has occurred to me, that once my diet is officially over, I will need to always eat within constructive boundaries if I don’t want to have to re-experience that last several months. That particular thought always brings a big sigh from me. AND I know that I want to continue to be able to move, have energy, be agile and flexible, and fit into my clothes while also breathing, I have sadly reached the age where what I indulge in food wise will always need constructive boundaries… that is just reality for me.
I received a diet bonus today. This crazy eat-less, eat better experience gave me an “A-ha!” in scripture. The first verse in Galatians 5 popped up in my church’s app this morning: “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” Jesus has set me free by what He did on the cross: I am free from the punishment of sin, I am free from the shame of sin, I am free from the fear of not ever measuring up, not ever doing it right or not ever doing enough. Freedom is fabulous! And sometimes freedom creates this attitude in us where we begin to believe we’re invincible. Do you remember when you first got your driver’s license and you were free to drive all by yourself? Do you remember when you first lived on your own and you thought, I can spend my money however I want? Do you remember when you finished your last diet and thought I will always stay below X number of pounds? (I do!)
God connected dots for me this morning by comparing this verse to my diet. When I reach my goal weight, I am officially off the diet. The idea is that I can go back to not having such restricted food choices. The truth is if I go back to eating whatever, whenever, I will soon be back in the same place I was at the beginning of the summer and I’ll be back to diet slavery. I have to keep the vision in mind of why I went on the diet in the first place: to continue to be able to move about freely, with energy, be agile and flexible and fit comfortably into my clothes. That vision will help me create constructive boundaries so that I can eat freely and maintain my vision.
The same is true in my relationship with Christ. Jesus doesn’t want me to live life trapped by a bunch of rules. He wants me to be free to enjoy a dynamic, growing relationship with Him. I have to continue to keep the vision in mind and not be distracted by what I am free to enjoy. The vision is that I get to be friends with Jesus. I get to be a really close, tight friend of Jesus. I get to be a member of His party tribe! I get to be on His speed dial, to be invited to His house for holidays, go to lunch regularly with Him, hear all the great things He knows and is doing. I get to be privy to all that! And even though He has freed me to live life to it’s fullest, the vision of being Jesus’ friend is paramount and I need to set constructive boundaries so that the vision is continually fulfilled — just like setting constructive boundaries when I sit at the dinner table, or indulge in a tasty snack, will free me from having to repeat the nasty diet cycle.God longs for me to be a Jesus follower, not a legalistic rule follower. He wants me to be so enraptured with the person, power, and purpose of Jesus Christ, that I am willing to live freely within the boundaries of what would please Him most.
I may soon be freed from my diet, and I am already truly free to enjoy Life at its absolute BEST. All praise, glory and honor to Jesus.
