Freedom

This 4th of July I've been thinking about freedom-- what it is and how we interpret it as Americans and Christians... and American Christians. I wouldn't really call myself a patriot, but I am grateful for the opportunities I have in America. I'm thankful that I don't have to fear for my life on a daily basis. I realize the blessing it is to be able to worship my God freely. I'm grateful for my education and the fact that I can choose what I want to do with my life. Many people might call these opportunities "freedom," and in a sense, I agree. But at the same time, I fear that we have twisted our freedom into something that isn't very freeing at all.

When I look around, I see a lot of Americans whose lives speak anything but freedom. People are trapped in unhealthy relationships that drain their being. People are tied to possessions that bring no real value or meaning to life. People are addicted to anything and everything. But we have the right to be trapped, because we're "free". It seems to me that a sad irony too often accompanies our freedom.

Frankly, I don't think we can't know true freedom apart from Christ. It is only by God's Spirit that we know what to do with freedom. We snuff out the gift when we hoard it. Our "freedom" becomes strangely tyrannical. We fool ourselves into thinking that freedom is a privilege to be protected instead of recognizing it as a gift to be shared. Is there anything truly free about a freedom that oppresses and tramples anyone that gets in its way?

Instead of "freedom" that crushes other people and ourselves, we've been offered a freedom in Christ that should be shared. We have been saved and freed for something, not just from something. It's a costly gift, but it's a beautiful one. There is freedom where the Spirit of God is, and we're invited to experience it and live it and give it and share it and hope for it.

So, anyway, I'm trying to figure out what it looks like to reject the tyrannical "freedom" of the world and embrace the freedom of God's Kingdom.