Love God and Do What You Please
"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2 Corinthians 3:17
So happy for FREEDOM! This was my thought as I read the comments on my post, "Why I am the Halloween Grinch."
So, here's what we did last night. As I was driving to pick the boys up after their practice for "Taming of the Shrew," Adelyn called to let me know Chipotle was offering $2 boo-ritos for anyone who showed up in costume. What a deal, right?
So, when I got home with the boys, we pulled out the dress-ups.I was a little challenged in the dress-up department, so I grabbed an old shirt of Bill's, a broken picture frame, a paint brush, and a bottle of green paint. I painted a sign that said ART, pinned it to my shirt, and smeared some green paint on my face. I carried the frame with me and at opportune moments put it in front of various members of the family saying, "Look! it's a work of ART." :)
I loved hearing your plans and your wrestlings. I love that some do the whole Halloween thing with costumes, and candy, and trick-or-treating. I love that some don't participate in Halloween at all. I love that some come up with alternatives.
Mostly I love that we have freedom to love God wholeheartedly and do what's best for our families. Or to quote Augustine ...
I love this quote because I really believe it. I'm convinced that if I wholeheartedly love God, then my desires will match up with God's will. I will be able to love God and do whatever I please. That, my friends, is freedom.
Key, of course, is having my soul trained in love to God.
And this is what life is all about ... training our souls to love God and then living out that love.
- Such a life is overflowing, welling up, fullness of life.
- Such a love is spilling over with joy and confidence and peace in the midst of shadow and pain.
- Such a life is messy and challenging and difficult as we learn to love and live at the hand of our Father who brings hardship as sweet, sweet discipling in our lives.
- Such a life is painful as we learn to trust God, even when the narrow lens of the "now" hurts so deeply and the hope of future grace, and even vengeance seems so far away.
Training a soul to love God is not mystery. Many people write about spiritual disciplines. Different traditions approach training the soul in different ways. Personally for me, here's how it happens...
- Prayer
- Bible reading
- Journaling
- Worship
- Obedience
When I'm actively training my soul to love God, I am so much happier. My husband has confidence in me. My children are at rest around me. I know the training won't be complete until the "not yet" when I see Jesus face to face. But, I want as much of this soul-trained love, this freedom in the "now" of this life.
What do you think? How do actively train your soul to love God? Is "loving God and doing as you please" appealing to you, or scary? How has your church experience impacted your view of freedom in Christ? Other thoughts, comments or questions? I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to comment here, email me at cynthiafin@gmail.com, or connect with me on Facebook.