The Freedom I found in Christ Jesus

If we happen to hear that someone is living his life according to someone else’s expectations, trying to please that person in every way, even to the point of going against his own will, we would unhesitatingly conclude that he is not free because he is not living right. Not living right because he is not living according to his dreams. He should know what he wants, what works for him and live up to it. 

How can we say we are free if we are not in the position to take control of our life. How can we be free if we are following somebody, doing what he wants, not what we want, renouncing our own will for his? 

This is what we do. This is who we are. Christians are simply Christ’s followers. We follow him, conforming our life with his... so, How can we say we are free? In what way we are free in Christ Jesus?

The first thing we need to know is that the freedom brought by Jesus is not an absolute freedom as we might often think of: Freedom to do everything we want, whenever and wherever we want. 

Our freedom is not absolute.

Speaking of absolute freedom we would immediately think of “having the possibility to do whatever we want” or of “being under control of no one, no law and no power”. This is not the case with the freedom promised to us by Jesus. Our freedom comes from God. It’s not something of our own. It comes with our being but it’s not from us. We don’t create our freedom.

Our freedom is secondary to that of God. A freedom to live in accordance with his law of love. 

Another reason for which our freedom can’t be absolute is that: We are communitarian beings, destined to live with others. It’s exactly this living together with others makes it impossible for us to have absolute freedom because, say for example, if in a community everybody is allowed to do everything he wants that community cannot last. We cannot exist without respecting the existence of others. Our freedom is not about “doing whatever we want”. 

Absolute freedom would certainly lead to conflict. If everybody claims to own everything then no one is owner of anything. 

Freedom in Christ Jesus 

• Freedom from sin

The freedom from sin consists in the determination to reject sins, this determination is brought up in us who follow and learn from Jesus, realizing Him as “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). But we would not reject something without having first realized its destructive consequences on our life because if it is not bad or destructive we would not have to reject it. 

However, having this freedom does not mean being able to live perfectly every moment without any mistake because it is impossible for us. Man, by nature, is sinful. The tendency to sin is always present in us. 

It’s about looking at Jesus as our model. Sinning is no longer our willingness. It’s now time for us to change our mind, conforming our thinking with that of our Lord, ready to live our life to the fullness, willing to do what is right in his sight.

• Freedom from the burdening past

It’s common for us to feel tormented by our past sins. This is the first evidence of negative consequences of sin. We carry the heavy burden of feelings for what we’ve done and for who we’ve been, even when already made up for it. 

Everyone who encounters with Jesus and opens his heart to him would feel freed from this load. With Jesus one can learn to forgive others and more importantly to forgive oneself. With Jesus one no longer lives for the past of sinfulness but for the future full of hope.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

• Freedom from self-discontentment

Self-discontentment is the negative aspect of self-awareness. It happens when we focus our attention on the negative side instead of the positive.

Outstanding in the ministry of Jesus is his message of love, forgiveness and compassion for others. “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11: 28-30)

His invitation to love others as ourselves, Mark 12:31, is clearly an implication for “Loving ourselves is the measure for loving others”. How can we love others if we don’t know how to love ourselves? How can we make others feel loved if we don’t first feel loved within us? How can we be an experience of love for others if we have never experienced it. We can’t give others what we do not have.

The encounter with Jesus changed our mentality. We now see love as the root of a good life. And it should begin with us from within. Love is about acceptance and being content with who we are.

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you."  (Hebrew 13: 5)

 “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5: 18)

• Freedom from “The old way of life” 

Our old way of life (the time we haven’t yet known Jesus) was in sin, corrupted by deceitful desires. But now, by welcoming Jesus into our life we are beginning a new life in spirit, a life with new knowledge of good and evil. 

The purpose of the coming of Jesus is first of all to reopen to us the door to life. “For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15: 21-22)

In Jesus I found the strength to rise above my own weaknesses. 

In Jesus I found the courage to accept myself, 
embracing my own imperfections and living humbly before him. 

In Jesus I found the reason to renounce sins. 

In Jesus I found new life. 

In Jesus I am free. I am free not simply because I follow Him but because I follow him willingly.

IS IT OK TO DOUBT YOUR FAITH?

The truth is “We all doubt our faith at some point in our life”. Faith in God is one of the most doubt-provoking concepts. First of all, I think it is appropriate to look at the meaning of the word “to doubt”.

What does doubt (to doubt) mean?

In simplest term, the noun “doubt” means a feeling of uncertainty, a lack of conviction or a lack of knowledge and “to doubt” means to feel uncertain of something.

Why do we doubt?

We doubt because we have a lack of knowledge and experience. We all have doubts because we don’t know everything. To doubt is normal, natural and human. Everything we know we first have to learn and before learning we were uncertain. 

It is even more inevitable to doubt when it comes to matter of faith.  

When we talk about doubting our faith we talk about doubting the existence of God. So it is inevitable to doubt knowing the fact that God is spirit. He is perfect, infinite and incomprehensible. We are imperfect and finite. Our human mind is limited and we can not know everything about him because if we could know everything about God then God wouldn’t be God anymore.

We may doubt God (all-loving as we believe) when our prayers are not answered the way we want. We call His existence into question. We may also doubt god because with all our human rational capacity we can not reconcile our belief with sufferings and with all the evils that are happening in the world.

On one hand, rationally speaking we can never obtain full knowledge of God, therefore, we would always be in doubt. On the other hand, with faith we can be certain of His existence.

The importance of Doubt.

We are thinking beings endowed with the capacity to think, to reason or to doubt. Doubt is part of our learning process. It is what pushes us to know the truth. The french philosopher Rene Descartes, well-known for his proposition “Cogito, ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am) in his Method of doubt, may be the best example for this reasoning. Cartesian doubt is not skeptical  but methodological. He puts everything to doubt to arrive at the conclusion of one certain thing: I doubt therefore i think and therefore i am. 

At this point we can say that it’s normal and even necessary to doubt. Our doubt should not be a hindrance but a motive for us to know more about God and by knowing more we love Him more.

Can Faith and Doubt coexist?

Based on Descartes' reasoning to doubt is equal to think and to reason, so it's about reasoning and we know that our faith is not a blind faith. it goes hand in hand with reason. Faith and reason are two ways of knowing God. Faith builds on reason (Thomas Aquinas). Therefore, we could say that faith and doubt can coexist. 

After all, we will not be condemned because we doubt. When we are uncertain is when we need to learn more. When we doubt is when we need to deepen our faith. Our doubt should lead us to faith, not away from it. 

“Faith is to believe what you do not yet see; the reward for this faith is to see what you believe.”

-Saint Augustine-