We all have the ability to choose God or not. It's called "free-will." When we don't choose God, it is called "sin." Is living a sinful life freedom? Sin is a freedom killer. Let me explain...
When we sin, we choose our desires over God's desires. Have you ever watched a TV show on DVD? When one episode ends, the next one begins. 8 episodes in, you realize that you've wasted half the day, but you just want that one more episode. You get a text to go play volleyball, but you can't muster up the strength to get off the couch. That TV show owns and controls you. You are a slave to a DVD. It could be sleeping in, going on the internet, swearing, falling to lust, etc. that has it's chains on us that guide us further away from God.
The Devil uses these sins to beat us down with fear and shame. We think, "How can someone love me when I've failed this much?" And we will try to hide from God. We sweep our imperfections under the rug thinking that will fix us. It's like ignoring a flat tire. If you ignore it, the tire doesn't magically get filled with air. In order to not cause greater damage, the tire has to get fixed before the car is used again. God knows we get flat tires in our lives, so he gave us the sacrament of Reconciliation to "fix our spiritual flat tires." There are only two things holding us back from Confession, fear and shame; both we know are from the Devil. He will use shame and fear all the time because it works on us. BREAK THE CHAINS!!!! Live free again by not letting the Devil control you with fear and shame and get to Confession as needed. Christ is waiting there with open arms.
"Jesus loves me. This I know. For the Bible tells me so..." We are told this from our youth. But I don't think we actually realize it. This is because people use the word "love" to describe their feelings towards anything from parents to a burger. Celebrities constantly say "I love my fans!" But God isn't Selena Gomez. When God says he loves you, it is with more passion and love than anyone could imagine.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." - John 3:16. Christ died for you. Yes, he would have died for the others if you didn't exist, but he also would have gone through that death if you were the only person who needed to be saved. That's the difference with God's love. There is no one on Earth that God loves more than you! He is painting the most beautiful aspects of your life right now, all you have to do is trust him.
God's fingerprints are in our lives. Years ago I was helping a lady change a tire on the side of the freeway. Some friends saw it was me, and pulled over to help. The jack began to tip towards me. My friends steadied the car so it didn't fall. Another fingerprint is just last week I was too sick to play soccer. That turned out to be a good thing because I would have played on a twisted ankle and could have hurt it more.
God is sculpting you into the best version of yourself. The version that will be the most rewarding. The version that will change the world. All you and I have to do is let God work through us and trust that his idea of our lives is much more awesome and rewarding than what we would accomplish by picking what we like in the moment (which is probably Netflix, video games, naps, procrastinating, etc). Are you ready to let God's love for you change your life?
We all have the ability to choose God or not. It's called "free-will." When we don't choose God, it is called "sin." Is living a sinful life freedom? Sin is a freedom killer. Let me explain...
