Freedom to Obey

     I do not like being told what to do. There is something in me that just wants to scream when someone tells me what I "need" or what I "should" do. I know this about myself, and since I am a grown-up, I've learned to control the rush of adrenaline that comes with these words. So what a paradox it is that I belong to a church with so many demands!
     God created us in His image and gave us will and intellect which means that he gave me a mind that can understand right and wrong and he gave me free will to chose between the two. God gave me freedom! What I have learned, though, is that I'm only truly free when I choose to follow him. There's the paradox. In order to be truly free, I must obey. I'll tell you that this truth has been and continues to be the hardest part of my spiritual journey.
     I believe that when Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom, He was creating his Church. So, I have to ask myself, "Why?" Jesus, why do I need a church? I believe the answer to that question is that I need a church because understanding and obeying God's will for my life is hard. His voice gets drowned out by the world's voice. So I need a voice in this world that is greater than me to keep me connected to Him.
     A lot of my friends and family ask me about the details of my church. What about this belief or how can I believe that. I understand those questions, but for me, those are details that can easily distract from the big picture. Which is not to say that those details aren't important. Some of them are huge. What I'm saying, though, is that I don't let those details distract me from the big picture. My church was created by Jesus. For the past 2000 years, it's been managed by human beings and anything run by human beings is going to be less than perfect. But Jesus promised Peter that nothing, not even Death, would destroy His church.
     And Jesus's promise is enough. So it is that in His church through obedience I have found a joyful freedom!