If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free…So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
John 8:31-32;36 NIV
We join our prayers today in intercession for men and women in our society who are trapped:
Those who are trapped in poverty with no sign of relief;
Those who are trapped in jobs that engage but a fraction of their powers;
Those who are trapped in families where love has ebbed away;
Those who are trapped in unwanted alliances out of which they cannot break;
Those who are trapped by the fear of discovery or by dependency on others; or by the need for drugs, or by an addiction to alcohol.
O Thou whose will it is that we be free, and who didst give Thy Son that we might be delivered from all coercive powers; make us examples of Thy freedom, proclaimers of Thy freedom, and instruments of Thy freedom; snap our chains that we may loose the chains of others.
Then shall the joy of the liberated rise from the earth like a mighty hymn of praise, Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Ernest T. Campbell
Fantasy or Reality
Oh, Sweet sisters, is this freedom we seek fantasy or reality? Can we ever really be free? Can we make that mindset shift?
I thank God we have each other. A journey without each other is no journey but an exercise in futility. Our path to freedom is nearly impossible without a community. I, myself, would quit, announcing, “it’s just easier this way,” accepting my perceived fate as reality. “It is what it is..”
I often fantasized about feeling free once I reached a certain income level: Free to buy the groceries I like, free to drive the car I want, and free from the strings of poverty. I also believed that freedom would follow once I reached a certain status in the church. I could really make a difference if I had a title. With a title, I would be free to influence others strategically in my position. All fantasy–dead, giving birth to nothing.
The world lacks freedom. Living in the “Land of the Free” has not made us free. Living with “freedom of religion” has not made us free. Assembling with others, singing “who the Son sets free is free indeed,” has not made us free.
In the world of false reality, the fantasy of freedom, there is reality. God is free. He created the world we live in, all of nature, animals, and humanity, freely, not out of necessity. God did not need us; God wanted us. God wanted partners to rule and reign alongside Him.
An example of this is brought into our own lives. When God is the epicenter of life, we walk by faith. When we walk by faith, we live freely. When self is at the center of life, our freedom disappears, and we are constricted by anxiousness and fear.
We live in a whirlwind of constantly swirling fantasy and reality. Our daily task is to differentiate between authentic freedom and the masquerade. Very simple. But not so simple. This is a task that cannot be done alone.
Freedom is not an abstraction, nor is it a thing. It is a gift and a skill.
Freedom is a tremendous gift. Sometimes, it is a gift that is too big for us. Good news!! We can grow into our freedom (as we should). The quest for experiential freedom is never ending, layered with simple complexity. However, there is a hunger and thirst that must be awakened within. Once awakened, our appetite to grow into our freedom becomes insatiable. The “experience of freedom” in the life of faith is at the heart of being human. Once we taste the whole experience of freedom, it is contagious. Maybe that is what we have to offer this world. Perhaps that is how we use the gift we’ve been given.
Isn’t that our life’s goal, mission, or quest? To spread the contagion of freedom? Isn’t that the whole point?
So my sisters, as we turn to walk back up the hill, we ask ourselves, “fantasy or reality?” Is this even possible? Do I look at this freedom thing as a beautiful concept, one of which I delight to talk about, all the while believing (unconfessed) that it’s really not something I could ever obtain? Or do I want it and crave it, and I just don’t know where to go or what to do? Or, I know it’s possible, I know it’s for me, I just need a hand up this long steep road.
Wherever you are, here we go! This is our Journey of freedom
When God is the epicenter of life, we walk by faith. When we walk by faith, we live freely