freedom

I've been thinking about freedom again. I think it's funny that we try to keep people in boxes. When I think about those things in regard to Christians, I think of all the "do's" and "don'ts" placed on us. And right now I'm thinking more specifically of those placed on us by other Christians. Through the years we've carried so many rules around. So many rules that Jesus Himself didn't put on us. We have a code of conduct to follow instead of listening to God's own Spirit in our lives. As long as you follow the rules you're ok. Jesus had something to say about that. He said the Pharisees washed the outside of the cup but the inside was still filthy. It was all an outward show. The cleansing has to come on the inside and the outside. The cup doesn't serve it's purpose if it's only clean on the outside.
So back to all the rules.
In my opinion a lot of these rules were put on us because of fear, fear by those in leadership. They were afraid of freedom. Freedom that Christ had given us. Rules were a method of controlling. Rules meant MEN could be in charge instead of Christ. Oh, but I tell you...there is freedom. Christ isn't telling you to follow rules. He tells us there is a right way to live, and His life was a picture of that. But that life can't be lived by following rules, it's lived by a change at the very center of our being. That change is a change from living according to a warped and fallen state to one of a redeemed, corrected, straightened state. So you see that living according to rules is only us trying to live this new life without the necessary changes on the inside. And that is impossible, and impossibly frustrating to everyone trying to accomplish it. And those incredibly frustrated people continue to make more rules for themselves and others in an effort to get where they can't possibly get to.
So again I find I would need to write a book to fully convey what I would like to, but I'm not that talented.