The Freedom of Limitation

“The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous."
Psalm 19:7-9 NIV

My wife has done a beautiful job arranging a little flower garden above our kitchen sink. In it, she has a variety of succulents, a cactus, and one of my favorites: a rope plant! When we first received the rope plant several years ago, it was just a little sprout, barely big enough for its own pot. Slowly, it began to grow into a little ball of green. Eventually, something happened – it stopped growing! It didn't die, and it looked healthy enough, but it simply stopped growing up. "Why is this thing called a rope plant?" we thought. It wasn't until about a year later, when my wife put a trellis, a structure for the plant to grow on, that the rope plant began to grow again, and quick! Within just a few months it went from being a 2-3 inch ball of green to becoming a beautiful plant reaching almost 2 feet high!

This process has been a reminder to me of my false view of freedom. At times, I have wrongly believed that freedom means being able to live without limitation. I often see rules as limits set for me and something that holds me back, instead of something that gives me the structure to become what God has made me to be. The truth that I often need to be reminded of is that there are rules worth aligning myself with – God’s rule. It's only with His rule and reign in my life that I can grow and mature. This is true freedom: growing into what God has intended you to be for His glory and our good!