Freedom (Part 2)
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Last week, I explored what Jesus meant when he said we believers are “free indeed.” However, being liberated from something begs the question: “For what purpose have I been set free?” Indeed, when people cry out to God in the midst of a personal struggle and He answers their prayer, this liberating experience often results in gratitude accompanied by a new desire to live purposefully.
In the foregoing excerpt from his letter to the churches in Galatia, Paul declares that the purpose of believers’ newfound freedom is to obey Jesus’ command to love others with everything they’ve got! As addressed in Part 2 of my book “More Than Your Business Card,” the reason Jesus calls us to follow him into the marketplace is love for God and love for others.
The reason Jesus calls us to follow him into the marketplace is love for God and love for others.
Regarding love for God, Jesus equated this love with obedience when he said “If you love me, keep my commands.” Thus, if we don’t obey his command to share our faith in him with others including our professional peers, we are not loving him nor are we loving our neighbors! After all, according to the Bible, those around us are destined for eternal conscious separation from God and all that is good if they don’t accept Jesus’ offer of reconciliation.
Several years ago, Mary and I attended a dinner in Oxford, England, in conjunction with a Christian apologetics program for marketplace leaders. We sat with a successful former businessman who now shares his faith in Christ internationally. At one point during the evening, he made the following startling assertion (paraphrased): “If believers aren’t constantly sharing their faith, they don’t understand the gospel!”
In essence, he was saying that the good news of Jesus Christ is so overwhelmingly good that it should be impossible not to share it. In a similar vein, I heard of a well-known evangelist who, having spoken to large audiences over many decades, concluded that it is not just unbelievers who need the gospel. Believers also need an ongoing refresher course!
Jesus’ command notwithstanding, many well-meaning followers of Jesus are uncomfortable sharing their faith with others including their professional peers. In chapter 4 of “More Than Your Business Card,” I address several reasons for such reluctance. In my personal experience, these barriers, which are largely the product of over-thinking potential negative consequences, largely disappear when we simply allow the fullness of our own relationship with Jesus and his indwelling power to overflow to others.
Quoting Daniel Hames and Michael Reeves in their article “The One and Only Way to Enjoy Evangelism,” “Seeing in Jesus what our God is really like causes us to shine like him. We come to share his great heart’s desire that his love, goodness, and righteousness would bless all the world.” Put differently, we share the truth of the Christian worldview out of our “lived experience.”
Here’s a question for each one of us. To what degree am I censoring my identity in Christ?
Photo by Jason Hogan on Unsplash
