True Freedom - Part 2

Today I took my daughter Kristin's dog, Tysen, for a walk. He's still a puppy and doesn't quite know how to do the leash thing yet, so truthfully, he took me for a walk. Tysen is a Yorkie-Poo and only weighs about 10 pounds, yet he dragged me around because of his eagerness.

Anyway, on the back end of our two mile jaunt, we encountered a very large black Labrador. It was clear to me that he was contained by an invisible fence system, but Tysen didn't know this. Because Tysen thinks everyone is happy to see him, he went charging full bore toward his new found friend. The black lab was not pleased and charged at him with a loud and deep bark. Tysen timidly backed off. As we proceeded on, the lab followed us along his owner's property, but due to his unseen boundaries, he was not able to reach Tysen. I believe that Tysen thought the "limitation" of his leash was keeping him from danger. Because he knew he was out of harm's way, with each step it seemed that Tysen regained more confidence.

I believe Tysen was actually thankful for his leash. Much like I wrote several weeks ago about my daughter, Molly, I think he saw for the first time in his young life that, rather than being a hindrance, his leash was protecting him and actually giving him more freedom.

To quote my earlier post, Jesus came, not just to save us, but to give us life to the full. The Biblical mandates of how to live life are there, not to restrict us, but to give us true freedom.

"Free" sex has not caused true freedom. It has caused millions of cases of sexually transmitted diseases. It has created millions of broken homes and hearts.

"Free" use of alcohol and drugs has not brought freedom. It has caused millions of deaths and broken lives...and homes. I know some addicts who tell me regularly that they feel like they're in a prison.

The same is true for everything that we choose to do on our own that goes against God's mandates for us. Just like Tysen, you and I will need to learn this one way or another.

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
The words of Jesus, John 10:10b