Let's Make a Deal

♪And the arms that gripped me felt like grace, and I realized in their embrace to be held so tight I've never felt so free. Also known as the day that You found me♫ -Big Daddy Weave "You Found Me"

Freedom-a state of liberty without restraint in choice or action. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word "freedom?" Our Founding Fathers and the national anthem? Martin Luther King Jr. and civil rights? How about Jesus and sin? The latter is often overlooked. People may see Jesus as a friend or a king but few can grasp the idea that He is a Savior. We hear Him called that, but do you actually understand what that means? He saves us and frees us. I am a lifeguard, so my job is to save people when they are in trouble and drowning in the water. So what is the difference between me and Jesus? We're both saving lives right? Wrong...I save people who are are in obvious distress and who are screaming for my help. If you were in the water desperate for help, wouldn't you cry our for someone to jump in and help you? Jesus however, often does not have people crying out for His saving grace. If we are desperate for Him to jump in and save us, we may call out and ask Him to do so, but here's the catch...we don't always know that we are in trouble. We think that we can handle situations on our own and only call on Him when all else fails. 

Now what would be the difference if we began every situation by calling out to Him and realizing we need His grace? In his book Crazy Love, Francis Chan says "If life were stable, I'd never need God's help. Since it's not, I reach out for Him regularly. I am thankful for the unknowns and that I don't have control, because it makes me run to God." I myself have trouble relating to this. I do not like the unknown, and I like to be in control. But the way Chan puts it, he points out that God gives us a much better deal. He will take control of everything and do it better than we could if we just surrender it to Him in the beginning. He wraps his arms around us, constrains us, and pulls us away from the actual constraint causing us to be in bondage. This song quoted above made me realize that God holds onto us so tightly, yet, in His embrace, we are more free than we could ever imagine. To be free from sin is to be embraced and saved by God. He will take care of anything and everything if we just get out of the way and allow Him to do so.