freedom is a beautiful thing

i've been working this quarter on an independent study. it's a pretty cool thing... if you are a nerd and self-driven. i basically got to pick a topic, wrote my own syllabus and bibliography and hoped i could find a prof to buy into what i wanted to study. and i did. so, this quarter i have been looking at discipleship. 

i wasn't really sure what would come out of it or what specifically i wanted to look at. i know it is a pretty big catch word in Christian circles, but not necessarily in the Lutheran ones. i was surprised to find out though that there are a few LCMS churches in the area that have directors of discipleship. but anyways, so i've been reading a lot and talking to people and trying to come up with my own definition. 

i don't think i'm ready to give you my 'official' definition yet, but i've been reflecting alot of what it means to follow Christ. love and freedom have come up a bunch in my studies. God loves the world. me loving God. me loving others. freedom from the law in Christ. there is freedom in loving God and trusting in His love for me. because of what He has done for me, His death and resurrection, His perfect keeping of the law, His outpouring of love, allows me to live in freedom to follow Him. i can live freely to serve God and my neighbor and my enemy, not because i have to or i need to, but simply because i want to. the love of the LORD has filled and overflowed in my life into the lives of others. 

"for freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery... for you were called to freedom, brothers. only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." galatians 5:1, 13