Freedom in Christ

Luke 13:10-17


Freedom. Freedom in Jesus and the life he shares with us. Freedom in God's healing work. Freedom in a world of shackles.

I love that this passage speaks of freedom. It tells us of the freedom found in Jesus amidst a world of rules, regulations, and restrictions. In our society, built by humans, not by God, there are expectations and commandments, things decreed to be right and wrong, good and evil. Some of them align with God's heart, but some of them are vastly different. It can be so hard to go against the grain, to do something of God's will that is not of the world's when we know we will be judged, ridiculed, or even penalized by a world who does not understand the heart of the Father.

In this passage, Jesus felt the freedom to do what he knew aligned with God's heart--heal a woman who was crippled by an evil spirit. That healing, even though it went against society's rules and regulations, was an action that glorified God, not one that went against his will. So let me ask you a question. Where do you prescribe to the world's will instead of God's?

When we speak the confession in Sunday morning worship, we say that we have sinned against God "by what we have done and by what we have left undone." What if Jesus hadn't healed that woman because he was afraid of what the synagogue leaders would think of him or do to him? I think of all the things I could have done in my life to glorify God, all the opportunities God placed in front of me to follow his lead that I didn't take because I was afraid of worldly consequences. Sinning by what I have left undone.

But in Jesus we see the freedom to shake off that fear. In Jesus we have the freedom to step out in God's will and live life as he calls us. And isn't it so freeing to know that we don't have to live according to the rules and restrictions created by a contradicting, imperfect, sinful society? We get to follow the heart of a steady, perfect, ever-loving God who knows exactly what we need and provides it for us.

Reflect:
Where do you follow the world's will instead of God's? Why?
Reflect on the ways that the world binds you yet God frees you. Thank God for this freedom, and pray for continual release from the grip of our broken world.

What's the Rest of the Story?

Luke 13:10-17


The synagogue leaders were furious with Jesus because he broke the law: he healed on the Sabbath. How dare he. But what was the reaction of the people? They were 'delighted with all the wonderful things he (Jesus) was doing.' (v. 17)

A small part of me thinks, somewhat self-righteously: of course they were delighted. We're always delighted when 'the man' gets taken down a peg, aren't we? When authority that we don't like is busted? When dictators are deposed? When hypocrites like these synagogue leaders are called out and publicly humiliated?

But is that what is going on here? That is part of it. But there is something deeper: Jesus healed a woman who had struggled with a physical disability for 18 long years. And what was her response to this miracle? Verse 13 is very clear: "She straightened up and praised God." Everyone who knew her had to be amazed by what they saw.

Don't you wonder what happened next? Did she go home and continue to praise God? Or did she fall back into old, sinful patterns? If she is human like you and me, my guess is that it is a combination of both. We want to live a righteous, God-pleasing life, but we fall short. Paul puts it so well in Romans 7:21-25:

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart.23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

Lord, help me to reject sin and cling to you. You have given me all that I need. Help me to rest in that gift, and to share the gift of eternal life with others. Amen.