The Freedom of God’s Love or the Captivity of Lies? The Decision is Easier if the Options are Clear.
Small decisions add up to helping us feel free or captive.
Shall I look longer at Facebook or give my husband a backrub?
Shall I stick to my plan of eating like a lady or take some more bites?
Shall I do a quick good deed or spend a little more time considering another’s needs?
Shall I try to multitask or give my full attention to another?
Shall I exercise now or hope there will be time later?
These are all questions which have presented themselves to me. Looking more thoroughly at what each decision would require of me and what the future results might be makes the decision easier.
Clarity equals power.
If I choose to give my husband a backrub, it increases feeling of connection between us.
If I take more bites than I really need, my sleep is disturbed.
If I multitask, I miss out.
You get the idea.
Let’s look at what is involved in the freedom of God’s love vs the captivity of lies. Look at the word of God in 1 Nephi 8–18.
Captivity: desires of the world, gold, silver, silks, fine linen, praise of the world, pride of the world, vain imaginations, idleness, don’t know the dealings of God, don’t ask Him, slow to remember Him, wander off, dwindle in unbelief, the plain and precious parts of the gospel taken away, darkness, mocking, hard hearts, blind eyes, captivity, torture, bound, slain.
That’s pretty clear. Easy decision. I don’t want it.
Freedom of God’s love: desirable to make one happy, sweet above all, white to exceed all whiteness, exceedingly great joy, desirable above all, most joyous to the soul, Lamb of God, Spirit of God, humble themselves, power of God with them, delivered by His power, a book of scripture, other books to establish the truth of the Bible, covenants of great worth, holy prophets, plain and precious truth, mercy, seek to bring forth Zion, publish peace, tidings of great joy, 1 God 1 shepherd, the Lamb taketh away their stumbling blocks, hearken to the Lamb, repent, remember Him, look, armed with righteousness, truth easy to understand, ask in faith, believe, receive, diligence in keeping His commandments, hold fast to the word of God, mind swallowed up in the things of God, love is the greatest of all the gifts of God, notice His tender mercies, wade through much affliction which to me implies slow steady movement forward, let Him be your light, by small things the Lord can bring about great things, the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished.
1 Nephi 11 has some version of “look”, “behold”, “see” 63 times.
What might happen if we keep our eyes on Him and His ways? Does it seem too simple?
What if we look at everything through the lens of Him, through the lens of His love?
His lens is the clear lens.
Clarity is powerful in helping us choose freedom or love.
When we make a choice we are not completely happy with, don’t despair. Try again. If we truly want to choose His love, He will help us.
