Come Out! And Be Free to be You
I John 5:1-5
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Have you ever owned a dog? If you have then you may understand the importance of Obedience training. Many breeds of dogs are eager to please their human companions – eager for the reward for their obedience – rub on the head or belly, scratch behind the ears, a treat, sometime at the dog park to play with other dogs, or simply just the words “good girl” or “good boy.” Cats on the other hand I am told will do their best to train you to obey them.
Obedience is often one of the first life lessons we learn from our parents – it begins in small ways at first when we are tiny – a gentle nudge away of a hand grabbing for our eyeglasses or our hair with the word “No” often “No No No” No touch.
The training promotes safety as our children test limits and abilities with toddling and childhood. “Take that out of your mouth” “put that down before you break it” “that’s mommy’s not yours” “wash your hands before you eat”
And then there are the ground rules and limits set for increasingly independent youngsters
“be home before dark”
“don’t ride your bike farther than you are able to see the house and absolutely no riding on the highway,” “do your homework first then if there’s time you may play a game,” “one cookie is enough, put the others back!”
Of course the rules get more serious as the teen years approach: “no dating until your sixteen without one of your parents present,” “loud music after 9PM will Not be tolerated,” “laziness will result in forfeiture of your allowance,” “Clean your room or lose your privileges” “Clothes go in the hamper not next to it on the floor” – some of us never learn that one, “just say no to everything except your mother!”
Obedience of our parental folks is sometimes for our own good – health & safety for instance.
Other times obedience is truly about imposing our will on our children, sometimes with positive intention and sometimes with negative results.
One of the major changes in our cultural landscape recently has been the diminishing privacy people have. It seems we can’t or don’t hide much from anybody these days. You may bemoan that as a loss of freedom and perhaps that’s correct.
Privacy, however should never be used as a smoke screen for abusive behaviors against children. So to the extent that decreasing privacy helps uncover injustice against vulnerable people, then we must ask which value is most important to us our privacy or the freedom of another from abuse or exploitation?
Obedience should never be Coercive or about Manipulation of another human being. And this is even true of obedience to God.
Obedience is often associated with Rewards and Punishments.
• Break the law, or the rule, or the Limit and get caught, you are subject to punishment.
• Obey the law and nobody will notice – but your reward may be a lower insurance premium or you may get a treat like DQ or Permission to go to the concert.
• Religion has said obey God and you’ll get in to heaven – ticket stamped – destination confirmed.
• Disobey God and you’ll find yourself in the throws of hell.
Obeying God is Less about Rewards & Punishments and Mostly about following God’s commandments = Love God & Love Every Neighbor
Obeying God is:
• to submit yourself to the Awesome Abundant Amazing Love God has for you and for everyone else
• to subject yourself to the Healing Mercy and Powerful Grace of God
• to Accept yourself as a Fully Adopted & Affirmed Child of God and to Treat Others as Sisters and Brothers in that same Grace
Obedience to God Frees us to be Who we are Created to Be – Children of an Awesome God!
For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith.
Obeying God – Not Burdensome? All those laws, 600something in OT alone? In this world with all the opportunities to take advantage of invisible privileges and the exploitation of others?
What John wants to tell you is that when you fully understand that YOU are CHOSEN by God and So IS EVERY ONE ELSE – Completely Loved, Encouraged by Grace, Accepted & Free From the Need for Any Other Affirmation in the World – When YOU Understand that – When YOU Breathe and Live that in Your Life – YOU are Free to Be You!
When we think about parenting – eternal or earthly – we should ask ourselves whether our Obedience training is Teaching us a Blind Compliance in Another’s Will for our Lives or Are We Being Encouraged or Encouraging our Children to Be Who we or They Are Created to Be?
Are we Growing faith to Conquer the Exploitive Ways of the World – Trust in the Truth that we Don’t have to Try to Be Somebody else. Friends, we are Created Beautiful – for beauty beholds imperfection and celebrates it without constraint.
Our Consumer Oriented Culture is Based on Marketing Products for Profit that Make us Feel or Think We are Beautiful – Beauty that is Defined by Fashion, Body Mass Index, Health, Abilities, Wealth, Attention, & Power.
This is especially true for the very women & girls in our society we celebrate today. The Mass Marketed Messages of the Ingredients for Beauty and Acceptance often are Received as a Brew of Shame if She doesn’t Meet up to the Impossible and Fake Standards Used to Coerce Young women to Reject themselves as they Try to be Beautiful.
Teen girls are pressured to have the perfect body, which of course doesn’t exist except in the imagination of Media. Suicide rates for teen girls trying to conform to air-brushed and computer generated images are too high – one is too many.
I found this beautiful video with a strong message for all of the women in our lives that was posted on our Facebook page earlier in the week – Song entitled Try by Colbie Callait.
God Chose YOU just as YOU are! God’s only Desire is for Your worship & Your Love. If anyone else tells You anything less or more they may be Manipulating you. God has no interest in Manipulating you. God wants you to be Free to Be You!
So Come Out! Stop hiding in the dark. Step into the Light of Christ’s love. You are beautiful just as You are and You are God’s child! Amen.
May 10, 2015 Easter VI – Year B COME OUT! Series Part 5 of 6 – Rev. Robert Bushey, Jr. Central Christian Church Bourbonnais, IL
Robert's Reflections 