Saying "Yes!" to Life

Have you ever noticed that after a child picks up the words "Da-Da" & "Ma-Ma" that the next word is "NO!"? Unfortunately, it seems as though we carry the "NO!" with us for the majority of our lives. We tend to live in the "Thou Shalt Not(s)" rather than in what is "Yes" & "Amen" in Christ. The question still remains for many people, "Does God really want me to enjoy life?"

Galatians 5:1, in my opinion, is one of the most understated truths in Scripture. It is here that the Apostle Paul tells the church that "It was for freedom that Christ set us free..." What he warned them against is picking up things that hindered their freedom. He did not want them to be "entangled AGAIN in a yoke of bondage." I know a lot of people in churches that struggle to believe that God wants them free so that they will be free.

The reason our children pick up the word "NO!" so quickly is because that is what we tend to live in. They are immediately introduced to a life of rules rather than boundaries. They are given the letter of the law rather than the lessons of love. I've often wondered what the lives of my children would have looked like if I would have had this understanding in my 20's rather than now in my 40's. What if I would have taken the time to explain the differences between boundaries & rules? What if I would have sat them down and said "This is what love looks like..." and lived out that reality? What if they would have learned that life is full of "YES!"?

Scripture declares, "For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us." (2 Corinthians 1:20). So much more of our life is wrapped up in "YES!" than we realize. There is much more freedom than we have lived in. There is so much more fullness than we have experienced. For too many people, God is nothing more than the BIG RULE MAKER rather than the TRUE LIFE GIVER. We have sat under so many teachings that have taught us what we cannot, or should not, do. And my question remains: What if we taught people that value of love? The power of Grace? And what if we taught them what other centered life looks like?

The reality is that we have become way too sin conscious in the church. We missed out on the understanding that when we teach the Law that it actually creates opportunity for sin to come alive in us (read Paul's letter to the church in Rome). He is not advocating the necessity of the Law in our lives. He is advocating the grace of God in our lives. The one thing that can empower us to become everything that we were created to become. Paul saw the Law as something that hindered us, drug us down, and kept us from becoming. He saw us entrapped in a system of "do's" & "dont's". This is why he was such a grace advocate. He did not want the Gentiles to become entangled in the very thing that Christ had set them free from. He wanted them to say "YES!" to the life of Christ within them. Oh, how I wish more and more people would get this understanding. I have seen far too many good people struggle under legalism. They have a pure heart for God but they never enter into the freedom of Christ. They are like children living in a house full of fear rather than a family full of love & acceptance.

Imagine life without fear. Consider life full of love. This is what you have been invited to participate in. Our lives are not about sin management. Our lives are about discovering the freedom we have in Him. Seeing that freedom come into full expression. It's about love, laughter, & fullness. It's about living in unbroken communion & fellowship. It's about understanding that His mercies are new every morning. When you & I discover this reality of freedom, then we will learn to say "YES!" to life.

Does God really want me to enjoy life?
Jesus said, "I have come that [you] may have life & that life more abundantly." (John 10:10)
I believe the death, burial, resurrection, & ascension of Jesus is the greatest "YES!" ever spoken to humanity.
YES!!! I want you to be free.
YES!!! I want you to come out of hiding.
YES!!! I want you to become everything I designed you to be.
YES!!! I want you to know you are loved, you are accepted, and you are invited to participate fully in this relationship.

What a glorious journey.