Why God is Determined to Keep You Restrained

It's hard having a little "froo-froo" dog in a military town. We've had Ace, our 7 pound bichon/poodle, for almost 10 years now. Don't get me wrong, he's adorable, loving, and fairly well-behaved, but taking him on walks while big army guys and their big army dogs run past us makes me feel slightly insecure. It doesn't help that Ace has always been notoriously bad at walks. You probably know what I mean. He's the kind of dog who spends half of the walk choking himself because he wants to run ahead in every direction, and the other half of the walk being choked as I attempt to pull him away from sniffing and peeing on everyone's mailbox. It baffles me how he could possibly enjoy this experience at all, yet he continues to beg and plead to go on walks with us.

Several years ago we thought our problem was solved when we bought a house with a fenced-in backyard. Finally, no more emasculating looks or anxiety over neighbors calling PETA for how heavy our dog is breathing as he fights to stay at the very end of his leash. The day we first let him out in the backyard with nothing to hold him back, he zoomed, he sniffed, and he.. uh... marked, for hours. It was the freedom he had always wanted and the assurance that we wanted as well.

We've lived in this house for quite a few years now. Can you guess what happens when we open the back door for him these days? He trots out, does his business, and shuffles back in. It didn't take long before Ace realized the fence that he once thought released him actually restricted him. He can't see out of it, can't jump over it, nor can he dig under it (he's tried). As it turns out, that freedom was an illusion. But you know what makes him come alive these days? Yep, the sight of his good ol' leash making an appearance for a walk around the neighborhood.

There are a lot of people who fear truly giving their lives to Christ because of how restricting the Christian life appears to them. They think of the faith as a leash that will hold them back from doing all the things they really want to do. But a life in Christ isn't restricting at all. It's restraining.

THE WORD

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is one who keeps the Law.

Proverbs 18:29

A couple of months ago I shared a word with our church about the importance of having vision in our lives. Without vision, Proverbs tells us, people become unrestrained. But, doesn’t that sound like a good thing? I mean, who wants to be restrained?

Restrained means, "To prevent (someone or something) from doing something; to keep under control or within limits."

Who wants that, right? I believe this is honestly the reason people don’t want to have vision. They don’t want to think about where their life is going, where their money is going, or where their time is going, because when they do, it can start to feel suffocating. But if we just don't think about our future, our effectiveness, or our stewardship, then we can continue to just be free! Or at least that's what we tell ourselves.

The fact is vision brings restraint and a lack of vision brings restriction. When you’re restrained it means you’re HELD BACK. When you’re restricted it means you’re PUSHED BACK. They're not the same because only one of them means you’re HELD.

Back to the pup. Ace began to feel the restriction of the fence pretty quick after he was introduced to his new yard. It wasn't long before he wanted new sights and smells because being confined to a space, even if it's a big space, is still restricting. But when he is put on the leash he can experience the whole world! (or at least the whole neighborhood.) It just comes with one condition: we are in control and he must stay with us.

I'd take a life with God restraining me over a life of sin restricting me any day. I'd rather take a life with vision, goals, direction, and mission which causes me to exercise restraint over a life with bad habits, momentary pleasures, and misconstrued freedom which keeps me bound.

Jesus isn't restricting, sin is! That's why Ephesians 2 describes it as being "DEAD in your transgressions and sin." You may feel free to do whatever you want, but you’re bound by the consequences of your choices. You're bound by guilt, shame, and condemnation. You're bound by the cycle and the pattern of giving into desires only to have them leaving you feeling empty. You are fenced in the yard of sin, and as free as you think you are, it's just an illusion.

Sin is the ILLUSION of FREEDOM. Christ is the REALITY of it.

When we know who we are in Christ, what He’s called us to do, and why He’s called us to be here, deception is broken off of our lives. We’re no longer restricted, because we submit to restraint. We've traded the confines of the fence for the freedom of the leash. No longer are you pushed back, you're held back! No longer captive to sin but captivated by Christ. Held in the arms of a Father who loves you enough to keep you from running out into the world, from making decisions that wreck your life, and from living a life without purpose and meaning. I'm thankful for a Father who restrains me.

CONCLUSION

You're probably familiar with the parable of the prodigal son found in Luke 15. One son asks his father for his inheritance and leaves home to squander all of his money on wicked living, only to end up in the slop of pigs. He comes to his senses and realizes even the servants at his father's house live much better than this. So he returns home to his father's full embrace and is even thrown a party in celebration. However the older son, who has remained faithful, becomes very offended by the father's decision to celebrate. The father's response to his oldest son is essentially, "Don't be upset over a cow, you have the whole farm! Celebrate your brother who was dead but is now alive."

In this story, the two sons learn the exact same lesson. They learn that they have complete access to everything the Father has so long as they have the father. The difference is, the oldest son didn’t have to live through a harsh experience in order to learn it. Each son came to understand their father had a vision that both protected them and provided for them. He was able to see what they were not.

I want to tell you today, you can spend your life living in the illusion of freedom that sin brings or you can come home to the father and be held. Don't settle for a life without restraint. The Christian life is a life submitted to a Father with vision. He sees what we do not, knows what we do not, and does for us what we are not able to do for ourselves. The leash of vision is not for keeping you out, it's for keeping you close. Be thankful for a Father who wants you near.