culture of freedom...

Day 2 into School and I am learning so much it's ridiculous!

So much good revelation came to me today listening to Pastor Bill Johnson and Kris Vallotton sharing in class.

The culture of the school here is designed in such a way that there is a culture of empowerment/freedom which calls out the greatness in you. It empowers you to take ownership of your life, and to pursue the greatness that God has for you. This kind of culture holds you to the high calling that our lives are marked by. Learning more of the values within this particular area the Lord started to show me some good stuff about freedom and what it takes to live in a freedom culture.

Here are some thoughts I'd like to share.

First of all, God has given us such extravagant freedom. We must learn how to walk in it and steward it wisely. The easiest thing to do is to demand that other people (authority figures etc) control us, thereby limiting our freedom. What I mean by this is giving authority figures greater authority in our lives than Jesus, or substituting our responsibility for our lives, by demanding that our authorities take responsibility for our issues. We make demands on our leaders, looking to them to find the solutions to our problems, without ever taking ownership or time to look into the solution for ourselves. No don't get me wrong. We need others around us. I need people to help me SEE clearly, especially in those areas where I lack insight. But what I mean is that we seek out other people to solve the issues in our lives, without first really taking it to Jesus or taking ownership of the issue or putting effort in to finding the solution for ourselves first.

You see it takes great risk, discipline, radical obedience, integrity and virtue to live the kind of freedom that Jesus died to give us. So much so that it often scares people to live this way, and so that's why we develop patterns where we demand that others control us and we get sucked into (by our own making) a culture where punishment and fear thrive.

Why is this kind of culture appealing? Because a culture of punishment, fear and control strips us of any responsibility for our lives. It requires little effort, energy and no faith. The lazy man makes this culture his home.

This is not where I desire to reside. None of us have to. It was for freedom that Christ set us free. My aim is to live in the vastness of His freedom and to manage it in such a healthy way, regardless of what it costs, or the effort I have to expend to get there. Living in this kind of culture of extravagant freedom is an attractive banner which draws all those hungry and desperate for it, to those who walk in it and can impart/replicate it.

FREEDOM. I like it a lot.