When I was growing up, I had a favorite sleeping bag. This sleeping bag was special to me because on the front of the bag was printed my favorite superhero—Wonder Woman. Do you remember Wonder Woman? I remember her shiny red and blue outfit and the sparkling tiara in her long, black hair.
When I slept in my Wonder Woman sleeping bag, I pretended I was Wonder Woman. In my fantasy, there was no task too difficult for me, and no problem was beyond my ability to solve. As Wonder Woman, I could, in my own power, conquer the world!
Often the Wonder Woman mentality gets in the way of freedom. When believers set their sights on worldly goals and utilize human strength and power in order to accomplish them, they’ve fallen into the Wonder Woman trap. For just a moment, think about your goals in life.
Often my daily goals are simple—cash the check at the bank, pick up a loaf of bread, pay the bills, or remember to wash a load of clothes. At other times, my goals are much more complex. These goals include being a good wife, raising my boys in a way that honors the Lord, and making an effort to be a productive member of my community.
Certainly these goals are good. We need daily goals that help us accomplish simple tasks as well as complex goals that force us to look at who we are and how we live our lives. However, in order to experience God’s freedom, I think it is essential to add one goal to the top of our list. This goal is found in Romans 8:29 which states, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son” (emphasis added). Based on this verse, we can know that God’s plan for our life involves conformity to the likeness of Jesus Christ. In fact, conformity to Jesus Christ is one of God’s key goals for us!
Think about God’s goal of conforming us to the likeness of Christ. You may be wondering what having this goal would mean to you. I believe that this goal means that God’s desire for you is that when you go to bed each night, you are a little more like Jesus than when you woke up that morning. You move toward this goal as you make knowing Jesus, loving Jesus, and serving Jesus the top priority of your day. When you make knowing, loving, and serving Jesus your top priority, you will experience freedom because you will experience Jesus! Why? Freedom is Christ—Christ in you!
In order to accomplish God’s goal of conformity to the likeness of Christ, we must dispel the Wonder Woman mentality because it stands in the way of freedom. The Wonder Woman life calls us to live out of our own strength and power as we swoop from one problem to the next trying to conquer the world. This leaves us focused on earthly goals that can be accomplished in human power or strength. In order to be free, we must forsake a life that is focused solely on earthly things and embrace a life of conformity to Jesus Christ. This requires a willingness to surrender to God. As we surrender, we lay aside the Wonder Woman role and embrace the role of being Christ’s servant. Then we are conformed to the likeness of Jesus and experience freedom in our daily life!
