I once had a friend who told me that the reason he wasn’t a Christian is because he wanted “free will.” I think what he was trying to say was that he wanted to live his life the way he wanted. Even more specifically, he wanted to sin, but didn’t want the consequences. What can we say to folks who think this way?
The first thing I would say is this, “Being a Christian is the best way to enjoy life.” There is nothing more satisfying, fun, exciting, joyful, freeing, and fulfilling than living for Jesus. But unfortunately, most people look at me like I’m nuts when I say this. Even some Christians think its crazy to say. Why is that? Why do most people think of church and Christians as boring weirdos? I used to think that, and to some degree, I still do. But why?
God didn’t create us to be boring. God didn’t create church to be boring. God didn’t write the bible to control you. God didn’t write the bible to prevent you from having fun. As a matter of fact, listen to what Jesus says in John 10:10b – “I have come so that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.”
What is Jesus saying? He is saying that part of the reason He came to earth was to give us a taste of how to live life to the max. Jesus didn’t say He came so we could be boring. Or that we can never do anything fun. Or that we have to be weird. No! He came so that we can learn how to live and have the most fun, experience the most freedom, and the most joy!
Happiness fades over time. We feel happy when life goes our way. We feel happy when we are with our friends. We feel happy when we find pleasure in something. But what happens when things don’t go our way? And when we can’t see our friends? And when we can’t do things that are pleasurable? Does that mean we just have to sit around and be depressed? No, Jesus wants us to have JOY! Joy isn’t dependent on circumstances. We can have joy, even when life isn’t going our way. Even when we are in really tough times, we can have joy, because joy comes from knowing that no matter what happens, we are loved by Jesus and He will be with us always. He will love us even when we die and we get to be with Him forever in a perfect place called heaven. That’s joy!
Truth is, “free will” doesn’t really exist the way we think it does. We can’t will ourselves to never have problems. Problems occur in everyone’s life, even if we don’t want them to. If you want to live free, the only way is to live for Jesus. He sets us free. He came so that we can live life to the fullest. Choose freedom, choose Jesus!
