Labels, Formulas and Freedom

When my children tell me how well they do things lately, I have been letting them know that accolades mean a heck of a lot more coming from someone other than oneself.  You didn’t see John Wayne or Clint Eastwood announcing themselves as bad asses.  They didn’t have to.

I have been thinking about that a lot in relation to how uncomfortable I have been announcing myself as a follower of Christ.

In the past, I would announce my salvation with my initial feverish rush, make some clumsy, uncomfortable evangelizing moves, fail to act in a Christian manner often and immediately after, and then kind of throw up my hands until the next cycle started.

I think I’ll just try to be a Christian and see if maybe people won’t eventually be able to tell for themselves.  By doing so, I think I’ll even be following Jesus’ example.  Not only did He not waste time with pronouncements, He didn’t even always answer when directly questioned.  He let His actions do the talking.

Besides, why start a relationship with a dividing line like that?  “I’m ‘this’ (and you should be too, we can talk about that after we get this relationship formed…)”

Another thing I’ve been thinking on (bear with me, I realize this is all quite basic), is that the more I let Christ live in me, the more I can trust “my own” impulses and judgment and not search out some kind of formula.  I had also been looking for a formula for “letting Christ live in me,” but they have only left me frustrated in the past (read x number of pages per day, it doesn’t count unless it’s the first thing you do, pray for x minutes x times per day…).

Every day is different.  Not every day can accommodate “the formula.”  Every person is different.  And quite intentionally so.  We’re only asked to “seek.”  We’re not even told how we have to do that.

What if freedom is something more than a word we recite or hymn lyrics we sing?

~ by nonamiss on June 4, 2009.