The Water Bottle: Legalism vs. Freedom in Christ

Alone on the mountain that day, I said, “Lord, I’ve always believed in you and prayed to you. But I need you to be Lord of my life now.” And I gave Him all my days, hopes, desires, plans. I said, “Not my will, but yours be done,” and I meant it. But this good attempt at a relationship with God quickly became more of a religion. I acted as if God wanted to control me. I prayed about every single decision, big and small. And while that’s a great thing to do, it was getting out of hand.

Healthy Relationship.

A mature adult child doesn’t call his parent and ask for approval about whether he can eat this or go there or workout that day. A mature adult child still submits to the Father and talks to the Father throughout the day. But he’s also learned to walk in the principles that His Father taught him. A mature son can make plenty of decisions that honor His Father freely with no need for control or manipulation.

The Water Bottle.

I finally realized this whole thing was spiraling out of control when I was melting down getting ready to go class across campus one morning. I prayed about what God wanted me to wear that day and whether or not I was allowed to bring my water bottle with me. Sad truth. I genuinely melted down when I couldn’t hear what He wanted me to do. And this moment was a wake up call for me. Maybe I wasn’t understanding what life in Christ is really about. Maybe I misunderstood what “Lord of my life” really means.

You can’t earn a gift.

Honestly, the whole thing was very stressful. I was duped into believing that one wrong move could mess the entire plan up for my life. Talk about pressure! And I wanted so badly to please the Lord that I was essentially just trying to earn His love by my decision making. I share all this because I know there are plenty of my brothers and sisters in Christ who are still in the trap of relating to God in this way. I call it a trap because it is not the freedom Christ died to offer us. It’s not the abundant life He sacrificed so much to give us. And I don’t know about you, but if Christ’s blood paid for it, I want it. So I want my freedom, my healing, my wholeness, my peace, my righteousness. All of these are gifts from God to enjoy freely, bought and paid for by Jesus’ blood. So we can’t earn any of it, so that we can’t be prideful. Gifts are given, not earned.

Control.

I didn’t realize that I was operating within a religious structure (one I made up in my head) that required every decision I made to be made for me. I think, when I became a Christian, I gave up my iron-will sense of control that I dealt with back then, and I gave it to God expecting He would operate in controlling me instead. But I totally missed the mark on how this whole Christian thing works. It became law, legalism, religion. I didn’t receive grace for myself and essentially thought dying to myself meant nothing I love or want matters, that I’m only here to be controlled by God now. Bleh! That’s not healthy! That’s not even godly! Living like that is just a very hollow and sad shell of a white-washed religious life.

Freedom.

There were two major moments that set me free from legalism and helped me understand a healthy relationship with God the Father and the freedom we have in Christ. I’ll be sharing those in the next couple days. But until then, if you or someone you love, struggles with how to live in the freedom of Christ, then really sit with what I’ve shared here. Don’t just skim over this. It’s key to a flourishing, healthy, vibrant relationship with God. If we don’t understand God’s heart for us, we can easily fall into a religious hollow life of legalism instead of enjoying the abundant life that comes with freedom in Christ!

If “it is for freedom that Christ came” (Galatians 5:1)… then let’s get set free!

And if today’s post strikes a chord with you, read more here: “Is God really in control?”