Our family is entering exciting times, as we have not one but TWO precious granddaughters starting to explore the new skill of walking. It’s hard to know how much freedom to give them as they embark on stepping out, wanting to be sure that they are safe but also allowing them the experience of taking small “risks” to strengthen their balance and hone the movements required to walk. My 15-month-old granddaughter is finding her little stroller-type walker effective at giving her the confidence she needs to move along, starting unsure but quickly picking up speed and agility. Suddenly, independence kicks in, and she wants to do things on her own, without any help. I’m sure she will be walking without aid very soon.
I think there is a Biblical lesson here about how grace, the freedom to choose, and the consequences of our choices, whether good or bad, work together in God’s plan that will be useful as we explore the connection of those first steps with walking in grace.
Before we get started, I think it would be helpful to define the following terms:
Grace: the unmerited, undeserved favor, love, and compassion God bestows upon humanity {AI-generated}
Freedom: In the context of "God’s economy"—His planned administration, purpose, and distribution of grace—freedom is not viewed as absolute autonomy (doing whatever one wants) but as the capacity and empowerment to choose, love, and align with God’s will. It is the responsible use of agency to pursue goodness, truth, and excellence rather than mere license. {AI-generated}
Consequences are not arbitrary punishments, but rather the natural, purposeful, and spiritual outcomes of human choices in relation to His laws, grace, and design. They represent the cause-and-effect relationship built into creation, often summarized as "reaping what you sow". {AI-generated}
Living in God’s Grace
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10
It’s so amazing to think that when God created us, He had everything about us in mind. If we are parents, we were specifically chosen for the children we have. If we are single, we were selected to be the children of our parents, to serve, honor, and obey them in a way that gives us special time for them, because we don’t have children. All of us certainly have been given spiritual gifts by our Heavenly Father and works that He prepared for us to do in His name.
Living in grace is all about Jesus. Through His atonement for our sins on the cross, He bestowed upon us the gift of eternal life, which we did not deserve. The least we can do is honor the Lord by living in God’s grace through our thoughts, words, actions, and deeds.
We have been given life to live to the fullest for God’s glory. Much like the little one who goes from crawling to walking, there is a wonder that comes from understanding our new position in life. For the new toddler, mom or dad is close by, making sure their little one is walking safely as they experience this new vantage point. As Believers, when we walk in grace, we are covered by God’s protection and provision throughout our days. "The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night" Psalm 121:5-6
The Grace of our Lord Jesus is the stepping stone to walking in freedom responsibly…
Walking in Freedom Responsibly
"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." Galatians 5:13
There is nothing cuter than a baby taking their first steps. Walking with that sweet, wide stride with their arms outstretched, giggling all the way. Eventually, as their confidence builds, they decide to run, which can lead to recklessness and the first bumps and bruises.
Unfortunately, when a new Believer’s confidence grows, it can lead to greater dependence on oneself rather than continuing to rely on the Lord at every step. We may not get bumps and bruises, BUT there will be consequences that can feel just as unpleasant. You see, the Lord gives us freedom indeed, but He is testing how we use that God-given freedom. Are we using it responsibly? Sometimes, it takes those early ventures away from the Lord to teach us the biggest lessons. Not that I’m advocating doing so for the sake of the big lesson, but more to show that our loving God works ALL of our consequences together as part of His loving plan for us.
What happens, though, when we walk in freedom responsibly, yet the consequences still seem harsh? You might be a young mother who prayed and prayed for your marriage to survive, even though Biblically you had a reason to leave. You did everything you felt the Lord was calling you to, but the marriage still fell apart. It’s hard not to take advantage of that freedom, thinking, “It didn’t help me when I followed the rules, so I’m just going to live and let live.” You then find yourself in a position where you are violating the admonition not to use that freedom for the flesh, which could lead to even worse consequences.
As disappointing as it would feel to watch a marriage fall apart that you prayed for and honored despite everything, it’s important to remember that God’s plan works even in a consequence that felt like punishment because it was actually protection.
When we walk in God’s freedom responsibly, our lives will ultimately be blessed. We might not realize it immediately, BUT we can trust that the Lord will redeem our decision to use our freedom to align with God’s will and to choose our love for Him over our selfish desires.
Cause and Effect
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8
Often, you’ll hear an old school parent say, “You can’t be a helicopter parent. The child needs to learn from their mistakes.” Meanwhile, you are doing everything in your power not to jump off the couch as you see said child climb the stairs, with no one near them to catch them if they fall. In my experience, anyway, the younger they are, the less they seem to learn from bad experiences. The little one seems to go right back to the dangerous situation. Especially when they first start walking!
You’d think as adults, we’d learn cause and effect pretty quickly, ESPECIALLY when our actions resulted in something negative. But I’m not so sure we do. Sure, maybe with the big, scary things we have enough sense not to risk it again, BUT it’s the subtle actions that are insidious, where we either don’t recognize the cause and effect or refuse to.
I am definitely hooked on sugar, especially desserts. I know this because for the longest time, I would only have desserts on Wednesdays and the weekends. But when my life got quite stressful, I turned to my emotional support desserts and was not only having them every day, but twice a day! The cause may have been stress, but the effect was a size up in my jeans! Not to mention how unhealthy it is to consume lots of sugar, especially at my age. The thing is that the weight gain didn’t happen right away. It snuck up on me.
When we do things outside of God’s will, choosing to please the flesh no matter what that looks like, from an “innocent” cupcake to a selfish choice, there will be consequences. The effect of those choices might not be external, but internal, like a guilty conscience, whether disappointment with cheating on a diet or a selfish decision where you could’ve helped someone, but didn’t. Those convictions can really sting and are uncomfortable.
The Lord allows convictions and consequences not to be mean-spirited, but to guide us back to Him. Some consequences might reshape our perspective on specific situations, making us better wives, husbands, sons, daughters, friends, or employees.
It is essential to be honest with ourselves when we suffer consequences and to seek the Lord about what lesson we are to learn from that experience. Some will be obvious. Others, like the example of the single mom earlier, may not be, BUT we can know that the Lord works everything for good to those who love Him.
When we remember God’s grace and walk in freedom responsibly, we will, for the most part, avoid negative consequences. Yet, if we find ourselves in situations that are uncomfortable as a result of something we did, God’s grace still covers us, and He will cause that effect to be redeemed when we seek Him with our whole heart.
Father, thank you for your Grace and the freedom to walk with you as our guide. Lord, remind us that when we fall into consequences, your grace will redeem us as we submit to your will. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Is there an area of your life where you tend more to independence that results in negative consequences?
Is there a consequence you are going through that you will look at differently now?
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/warrengoldswain
