Rushing down the sidewalk after a few too many hours on road with stops, I couldn’t wait to reach the bathroom. Slamming the stall door shut, I suddenly found myself distracted.
The rest stop caretakers had posted the most specific sign I’d seen in a loo.
What’s happening that you need to flush your undergarments?!
Maybe it was all the time in the car, but the sign had me laughing hard.
Sometimes it’s better to say what you can do instead of what you can’t do.
(In the case of toileting, that’s up for debate…but still…)
I find faith in Christ is often seen more as a list of what not to do than what to do. Among unbelievers, this is evident in the common perception of Christians as “judgy,” “kill-joys,” “strict,” “condemning,” etc.
But as believers, we sometimes approach God’s Word like a long list of “don’ts” too.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” –Galatians 5:1
Our relationship with God has us living two realities which, to our limited selves, seem paradoxical.
- We are free in Christ
- We are slaves to Christ
Both are true.
Christ freed us from sin into the opportunity to obey Him.
Abiding in Christ isn’t something we can do while enslaved to sin. Glorifying God isn’t an option when we follow the ruler of the world, Satan. Abiding in and glorifying the Only One worthy is a privilege. It’s ours for the choosing when we receive salvation from Jesus.
This is pictured in Scripture as bondservice.
A bond servant was a slave who, given freedom, chose to serve his master. He was free. And He chose to be a slave.
Because our True Master is so loving, kind, and perfect, it’s no wonder that we would choose to use our freedom to serve Him too!
Here’s what this opportunity looks like:
| The Biblical “Don’t”… | Frees Us From… | So We are Free To… |
| Don’t lie | Entrapment in deception | Trust God with the truth |
| Don’t gossip | Crafting perceptions, not relationships | Love others sincerely |
| Don’t be greedy | Consumption with corruptible things | Enjoy God’s good gifts |
| Don’t judge | Idolizing roles, rules, ourselves, etc. | Connect humbly and genuinely |
| Don’t worry | Losing sleep; self-dependence | Rejoice in God’s provision |
It is for freedom Christ has set us free. Let’s not use our freedom to stay enslaved to sin and it’s consequences!
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Galatians 5:1 has long been one of my favorite verses. I love the freedom we have in Christ. Yes, sometimes those signs make me laugh too. And wonder. 🙂
Me too, Lisa!!
It’s so true that all the don’ts are actually great big permission slips to embrace a God-centered and therefore healthy view of the world.
I love the mental path that you traveled to reach these great conclusions!
I’m glad you enjoyed the meandering method, Michele! So thankful for these blessings of permission slips too!
This one made me laugh out loud! And yes! May we embrace God’s very best for our lives, which includes his protective boundaries – all for our good! And may we never flush our underwear down the toilet either!
So glad, Stacey, and yes let’s not flush our underwear! Thankful for God’s protective boundaries, too.
Yes. Love this. It took me a change in attitude (and becoming a parent who said no) to see that all the “do not’s” in the bible were to protect me and help me live in freedom. Seeing his laws as loving shines a whole new light on all the “do not’s.”
I also wonder who is flushing undergarments? My daughter once told me she saw someone washing her clothes in the toilet. Flushing over and over again as her rinse cycle. I can imagine not holding on tightly, and losing a smaller item.
Love the title. It made me know I had to read this.
His laws are so loving. Thank you for stopping by and sharing in this conversation! I’m so sorry that anyone is washing clothes in a toilet!
Bethany, you had me laughing out loud, too. So funny! But…still…what a powerful analogy. I I love this thought, “Christ freed us from sin into the opportunity to obey Him.”
It made me laugh out of loud, too! Thankful for the opportunity to obey Him!
Love the title!! It’s great how you made the transition to us and the view a lot of people have about all the do not’s of the Christian walk. You are absolutely right that it is a great and rewarding truth that we have been set free from sin and in that we should want to serve Jesus and grow continually in our servanthood for Him!! It’s in this that we have the abundant life!! Great post!! #purposefulfaith link up
Thank you, April! Thankful for the great and rewarding truth!
Love this. And that sign made me giggle too. Visiting you from the tea and word tues link up. laurensparks.net
It made me giggle, too! Thank you!
Bethany, I love the chart at the end. Great job.
Thank you, Susan!
That is a bizarre sign! And it’s so true that people often see Christianity as a lot of rules but don’t realise that living as God intended is actually the way to freedom. I like how your chart highlights the truth of this!