Freedom and Constraint

March 17th, 2009 Tim Posted in SevenLakes Info |

Pastor Dan recently lent The Reason for God by Tim Keller to my husband Tim.  It’s very appropriate for the current life lesson series on doubt. I’m only in chapter three but it answers questions like “how can there be just one true religion?”, “how could a good God allow suffering?”, “isn’t Christianity a straitjacket from freedom?”, “hasn’t science disproved Christianity?” and more. There are people very close to me who say they do not believe based on some of these questions. But the main reason they express for not believing in Christ is clearly stated in Keller’s introduction:

“I have no beliefs about God one way or another. I simply feel no need for God and I am not interested in thinking about it.” But hidden beneath this feeling is the very modern American belief that the existence of God is a matter of indifference unless it intersects with my emotional needs. The speaker is betting his or her life that no God exists who would hold you accountable for your beliefs and behavior if you didn’t feel the need for him. That may be true or it may not be true, but, again, it is quite a leap of faith.”

I believe that Christianity is the only truly consistent belief system. Judaism and Islam teach that Jesus was a great teacher but ignore that he said that he is “the way, the truth, and the life” and “the only way to the Father.” Atheistic evolution says that we are all here due to accidents unguided by any intelligent outside force. The “god” of evolution is survival of the fittest. Millions profess to belive this yet inconsistently root for the underdog, contribute to charities to cure diseases and complain about evil in the world.

Keller concludes chapter three, “Christianity is a Straitjacket”, with “at first sight, then, a relationship with God seems inherently dehumanizing, surely it will have to be “one way,” God’s way. God, the divine being, has all the power. I must adjust to God–there is no way that God could adjust to and serve me. While this may be true in other forms of religion and belief in God, it is not true in Christianity. In the most radical way, God has adjusted to us–in his incarnation and atonement”…”If he has done this for us, we can and should say the same to God and others. St. Paul writes, “the love of Christ constrains us” (2 Corinthians 5:14)”….”Once you realize how Jesus changed for you and gave himself for you, you aren’t afraid of giving up your freedom and therefore finding your freedom in him.”

Two days ago I watched the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic which I actually really liked. It was fun and had a good message without beating you over the head with it. The main character acknowledges sin in a realistic and refreshingly honest way: When her secret shame was revealed she said “I shop because when I do, the world gets better. And then it isn’t anymore. And I have to do it again.” That hit a cord for me in the area of emotional eating. There is a verse I love that speaks to freedom within constraint. It is John 4:34 which in the English Standard Version says “Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” Finding sustenance in doing the will of God sounds like true freedom to me. (Nancy)