Imitating life

"They are free under authority, which is liberty; to be free without liberty is license."

~A Charlotte Mason Education

My friend Liz and I were talking the other day about freedom. We are both in our mid thirties, and learning more than ever what it means to follow Christ. We were talking about choices and God's sovereignty and the mysterious coming together of the two. And even more perplexing, our role in it all. We are amazed at how we sometimes have to start over and learn the basics of our faith. (But how we always walk away more deeply in awe of Jesus and his saving grace.) Grace and consequences, all wrapped up together in our journey to know Him.

With these things in mind, along with other issues, I sat down to paint. What a great little outlet to let it all overflow. I laughed at the product. A little butterfly, the perfect symbol of freedom. But while the word "free" and the butterfly were obvious, the actual art appears to be more of a paint-by-numbers than a freestyle piece of work. I never paint this way. I guess I was feeling like freedom in Christ, might not be completely free, or atleast not in the world's terms. We do not have the freedom to sin just because we are saved. Although our sin is covered by the blood of Jesus. We have the freedom to follow Christ (and mess up while doing so), and work out our individual faith in a personal way. And while this is freeing, it is not a complete free-for-all. My depiction of freedom wasn't wild and wavy, but colorful and full of boundaries. It was the perfect symbol of what I am learning right now.