“I make the rules!” yelled our four-year old granddaughter when challenged by her older brother about the rules of the game they were playing. At first her words were cute, funny; then they became profound.
She expressed a certainty reaching all the way back to Adam and Eve, expressing the essence of the very nature of self-assertion and control. She was guileless, of course, only feeling the desire to be in charge, feeling somehow threatened by someone bigger and stronger. We might view this expression as a natural part of growing up, or, in Christianese, we might attribute it to our “sin nature.”
However, when we respond in an Adam-like way to the God who loves us unconditionally, the stakes are immeasurably higher. When we insist that “I make the rules!” we fall into a dark and dangerous place.
God gives us freedom to do many things within the boundaries of His love-infused rules for living. Those rules are designed to keep us safe. They aren’t punitive (as we often believe), but are given to preserve our physical, emotional and spiritual health. God designed us and truly knows what is best for us and those around us.
When we choose to believe and declare “I make the rules!”, the consequences are ours to own—self-inflicted separation from the God who desires to be in relationship with us. God still cares. He still loves us, and He is willing to wait for us to give up the illusion of control. Our privilege is submission—to come under God’s good mission for our lives.
Blessings to you this day,
Annette
Looking with New Eyes 