Sacred Cynicism

I am constantly amazed and challenged by the story of Christmas. I am not talking about shepherds, wise men, or a night spent in a stable, but the larger story of how God chose to react to a world in rebellion. To be honest God did not do things the way I would have done them. I would have chosen to act more publicly. I would have made a big public condemnation of humanity, and issued a statement that the working relationship between Creator and creation is hereby terminated. At least that would have publicly severed the link between what these selfish people do, and any lasting PR damage their actions had on their God.

There was another route that God could have taken. He could have arrived in a powerful and public manner, perhaps in the halls of government, or the home of a ruler. This would have been a prudent option, since after all that is what a God or coming King would naturally do, plus it was what the people themselves expected. Then as God, or His representative, a full takeover of government could have happened almost in an instant. New laws could have been passed, new regulations enforced, and with the full weight of Divinity behind God, a standing order could have been issued. After all, who would ignore such a commanding order. That would have been the way I would have done it – powerfully, forcibly, and unmistakably.

Yet Christmas does not look like this at all, and it never has. Christmas compels, it does not force. Christmas invites, it does not order. Christmas stands alongside, it does not stand above. When we say sentences like these, we admit there is a natural truth – a truth that was created that day when God decided to come in a way that no one expected. God came to Earth not in a capitol city, but in a village. His arrival was not announced to the army, but to shepherds. Everything about this day is unexpected and upside down, and this is the part we miss about this season.

We expect there to be lights, gifts, and a tree. We expect to get things that have been on our Christmas list. In Philippians 2:6 we read, “Jesus: who being in very nature, God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited – made Himself nothing.” The phrase “made Himself nothing” means He became one of us. Instead of making a public condemnation of humanity, God became humanity. Instead of looking on our suffering with detachment, God came and took on the worst of our suffering. He took on the worst of what it means to be human, so we can once again find the best of what it means to be human. He steeped down, to lift us up – that is Christmas.

Maybe we demonstrate again what Christmas means. Is there someone around us that we can walk alongside? Instead of looking with detachment at their misfortune, even if it is self-afflicted, perhaps we can walk with them for awhile, and maybe lift them up as a result. Instead of looking at our blessings and saying this is mine, we can choose not to exploit those blessings, but use them to demonstrate Christ to a neighbor. We have that opportunity this Christmas. We have this opportunity all the time, because this is what Christmas is.

What situation could we change, just by walking through the situation with them? We could condemn them, and let them know how much we disapprove of what they have done. That would be one way to act, but many have tried that way before, and it does not do much. Plus, I am sure they are well aware that their situation is not ideal. What if we just chose to walk with them instead? That way has been tried before, and it is why we are celebrating Christmas.

Last week I popped into a department store for a quick purchase and heard the familiar sounds of Christmas music. Nowadays that can only mean one thing – Thanksgiving must be getting close. This is a part of our culture that drives me nuts – Christmas music weeks before Thanksgiving. It just feels like we are trampling over Thanksgiving, just to encourage people to buy, buy, buy.

I am protective of Thanksgiving, for in many ways it is my favorite holiday. I like everything about it. It is low key. The food is fantastic. There is a football game on, and there is family everywhere. There is also pie. Any special day or holiday that features pie is a good thing. Perhaps the greatest reason I like the holiday so much is because we have a chance to think about all of the things we are thankful for. So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, let me list some of the things for which I am thankful.

I am thankful my children are healthy. I am thankful for 25 years of marriage, it does not seem anywhere near that long. I am thankful my wife and I got to see a new, beautiful area of the country for the first time this year. I am thankful for a home, safety, and enough. I am thankful for Black Raspberry Jelly, grape is too pedestrian.  Unfortunately, I am thankful for effective pain medication while passing a kidney stone. I am thankful my life has been blessed, and I can consider myself fortunate. These are the kinds of things for which we are all grateful. We like to celebrate things, blessings, and material prosperity. This Thanksgiving, perhaps it would be a good idea to think about a host of other things, and be thankful. Parts of life that are often neglected, yet are things which have proved to be a benefit to us. So here is my expanded, 2011 things for which I am thankful list.

I am thankful for the times we struggled to make ends meet – it helped me to appreciate life, and enabled me to appreciate the extras in life for the blessings they are. I am thankful for those times when I realize my knowledge is limited, and I do not know – these times are great opportunities for new knowledge and growth. I am thankful for all the things I realize I have been wrong about, for it led to new insight. I am thankful for people who are quite different than me, really thankful. I am thankful for fellow Christians who look at the faith completely differently than I do, boy do I learn a lot from you. I am thankful for the times my mom told me “No.” I am thankful for the times when we had to tell our kids, “no,” and for the people they have become at least partially as a result.

I am thankful there are times I really miss some people, that means love is present in my life. I am thankful that sickness and pain seem so strange to me, for that means health has been a regular visitor. I am thankful that so many people smile when they see me, I would hate to go through life if everyone frowns when they see me. I am thankful for words that make me smile – coach, dad, grace, forgive, and Indians Win the World Series!! Well, a boy can dream. I am thankful my kids enjoy being out of the house – it means they were ready to go.

Of all the things for which I am thankful, perhaps this is the one thing at the top of my list. This is a Thanksgiving where there are no fractured relationships, no people who cause me anxiety. This is a great blessing. It could be that I am too dumb to notice, so if I owe you an apology, please let me know – for I want to say this next year, and really be right. Most of all I am thankful for One who came to Earth and demonstrated that forgiveness and reconciliation are possible. So to everyone – Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

Last week we asked the question, “is it a good idea – is it worth it to follow Christ?” After all, if we are going to invite people to follow Christ, then we should actually invite them to something better, something more worthwhile than the life they know. This was Paul’s task, when he visited with the group of philosophers that frequented ancient Athens in Acts 17. Perhaps it is time to make this argument again. It seems fairly evident that Paul did not succeed in his quest, and maybe we will not either. Yet maybe it is good to try, and think about this question from time to time.

We live in a time where people of faith and people of science are often perceived as being on different sides of a debate. Too often, this debate is about the method of Creation, and how long it took for Creation to happen. This is unfortunate for a number of reasons, not least of which is that Scripture does not seek to answer questions of how long ago, and when did it happen. The book of Genesis has a more vital question to answer – who are we, and why are we here? So Genesis tells a story in a manner that the ancient readers would have understood. You are not here by accident. It is good to be in relationship with each other, and you carry around the image of God within you.

Amazingly enough, these answers are still every bit as relevant today as they were when they were first written. Our divide today does not pit faith vs. science, but pits those who see God at work in the Creation with those who leave no room for a divine design.

In essence, there are some who would have us believe that everything we see is the product of a random act. Not only a random act, but a cosmic event with no cause, no reason, and no explanation. Everything we see is the result of a mega-explosion of matter. Either blind luck, climactic roulette, or a genetic lottery is the ultimate cause for everything we see. As a result we would live in world bereft of purpose, direction, and order.

This is not the case with those who see God’s hand at work. Each person has value, and reflects the image of the One who created them. The cosmos and the obvious order and design reflected within it, are a window into the mind of the Creator. We become so much more than the happenstance of a purposeless creation, but the purposeful creation, created for relationship with each other, and to relate to our Creator.

There is one other area that speaks to me in this discussion. In a world that leaves no room for the divine hand, we have perfectly reasonable explanations for most of what surrounds us. We can explain why we walk upright, why our diet has become what it is, and we can even explain why the fittest survive, and men and women are attracted to each other. I get it. I even understand it. Yet there is something missing. What explains music, beauty, justice, and grace? What benefit is there to forgive? Why extend the benefit of the doubt to the stranger? What role would self-sacrifice play in a world where only the fittest survive? Why is it good to love, even if there is no benefit to the one who is loving?

This is where a mechanistic, divine-less explanation falls short. Perhaps we recognize the good in all of these things because we are more than just a evolving animal. Could these expressions be the leftover residue left within us by a Creator? Maybe we innately recognize the image of the Creator, and it still resonates within us. Truth be told, we have even recognized that the important things of life might not be the physical traits, but those times and places where justice, grace and love are evident. Most people have found this to be true, and it is one piece of evidence that following Christ is worth it, especially the Christ that says the greatest expression is love.

Around the time of 50 A.D. Athens, Greece was a special place. It was no longer the seat of power, since Rome had long surpassed Greece as the dominant world power. It was however, still a place where the leading minds and philosophers of the day gathered to learn, discuss, and debate. You could almost call it a large, college town. In Athens all of the philosophies of the world were held in esteem, and honored. All of the gods worshiped by various peoples were also held in high esteem. None were more valued than any other, and were esteemed equally. It was a world very similar to our own.

One day around this time, a new person arrived on the scene in Athens. He was not familiar to the leaders and philosophers of Athens. He was a short man, balding, and seemed to not see very well at all. His name was Paul of Tarsus. In the city of Athens there were monuments and altars dedicated to the various gods that people worshiped. Not wanting to forget any potential gods, some had erected an altar to the Unknown God. This newcomer named Paul now stood in their midst and told them about this Unknown God. Yet Paul did even more than this – he did not just say that this Unknown God should be worshiped along with the other, named gods; rather, Paul stated that this Unknown God should be worshiped instead of these other gods. This was quite a bold claim.

Maybe it is time to make a similar statement. We live in a world that seems to hold every philosophy in equal esteem. In our public discourse it does not matter what belief or philosophy we hold, as long as it “works” for us. Christianity is no different than Hinduism, no better than being a Wiccan, and no more more exclusive than being a pantheist. So what are we to think? Should we let our thinking follow our times? Should we look at our faith as something that simply works for us, or is it something worth more than that?

For some reason Paul seemed to think that this Unknown God was more worthy to be worshiped than any of the idols around them. Acts 17:16-31 was his impassioned attempt to convince the philosophers in Athens of this claim. So let us ask these same questions – is Jesus Christ any different from the other gods we know? Why is Christianity different than the other religions around us? Should we worship this Christ, or is there no difference between Christ and the other beliefs around us?

Over the next few weeks we will try to answer this question from the perspective of our time and place. Is there something inherently right or better about worshiping Christ? Why is our time and energy better spent in this pursuit, rather than another? Let me make this admission before I start. I believe Christianity is worthy, and that Jesus Christ is different. Hopefully, over the next few weeks we can demonstrate this. Christianity is worth it, and we are not wasting our time.

There are some ways in which my wife and I are quite different. Yet one of the ways we are similar and well-matched is in the way we like to take vacations. In a world of beach-goers and Disney visitors, we love to see beautiful, out of the way places. There is nothing wrong with being a Disney visitor, I am just happy I did not marry one. My wife and I like to see lakes, mountains and lots of scenery. This past week we spent time in two National Parks (Olympic and Mount Rainier), and when I visit places like these, my mind often turns to the Creation story in Genesis 1 and 2. It is one of the most vibrant and stirring stories in all of Scripture, but it has been one of the most misunderstood. Let me try to explain why.

In our recent trip to the Northwest, I was awed by the grandeur and beauty that surrounded me. Not only was I awed, but I felt so insignificant and small compared to the scenery before me. Even more, I saw in the scenes around me the hand of One who loves beauty, harmony and goodness. In the period of 3 hours one afternoon, I traveled from alpine splendor, to searching for bright orange starfish in tidal pools. Such beauty lifted my soul into an appreciation for the Hand behind what I was seeing.

Yet this has not been the subject of the Creation story I have heard for many years. In our use of the Creation story, the rich meaning of the Creation has been stripped away in order to engage in a debate of how things were created, or how long ago it happened. Could it be that we need to be introduced again to the Creation story? Could this story be about more than timing or physical description, and instead be a deeply meaningful account that goes to the heart of what it means to be a person? Let’s look at this story again.

As I read the first chapters of Genesis, I am struck by unmistakable themes. First, we are not an accident, nor the leftovers of some larger, divine struggle. Rather, we are the purposeful act of a God that has an interest in His creation. Second, the story tells us strongly that the creation is good – all of it. The physical world is not some foreboding place, but reflective of the attributes of the One who created it. Next, the story tells us that there are things which are holy, and these are to be protected, nurtured and treasured. Even more we are to dedicate our lives to the celebration and recognition of the holy. The story also tells us that we are to maintain our relationship to the One who created us, and everything around us. Finally, for those of us who are married, or would like to be, this story tells us that we are to protect, and treasure this special relationship, that is to be unlike any other relationship. All of these are front and center in the creation account.

Not surprisingly, these themes from Genesis have reverberated with me this past week. In everything I have observed, I have seen purpose and design this week. There is no way this is some residue of a cosmic accident. There is beauty and goodness all around me this week. It reflects a nature more benevolent and grand than any cosmic leftovers from a random explosion. I look around, and I can tell you it is good. The grandeur of what I have seen reminds me that I am mere creation, and a small speck of that creation. As small of a speck that I am, I can also tell you that the voice of the One who made this has been loud in my ears this week. This Creator calls me to the goodness and beauty I have witnessed, and to live in relationship with the One who formed me. Finally, as I walk with the wife who has been with me for 25 years, the week has reminded me that there is holiness and goodness that is the focal point of Creation. It is to be guarded, protected, and treasured.

Should it surprise me that the lessons of this past week perfectly fit into these opening chapters of Genesis? No, isn’t that the whole point? Yet how often have we lost the meaning of this account to engage in a debate about issues the Creation story never addresses. Physical descriptions and timing are not important, but who we are, and how we are to live are vital. These are the central points of our story, and the first story. As we observe the beauty and goodness around us, perhaps we need to be reminded again that we may not really live until God has breathed into us His Spirit, our breath of life (Gen. 2:7). We live in a good world, filled with His beauty, and we are called to notice. Have you?

During the past week my wife and I have been traveling around the Pacific Northwest for the first time in our lives. It was an area in which we have never been, and we thought it would be great to see it for ourselves. One week into our journey I can say this is a truly beautiful area. There are stunning vistas, green mountains, and enormous trees – all things we do not get to see in the flat Midwest. As beautiful as this area is, I have to admit it is awfully cloudy and dreary at times. Yes, it rains in the Midwest, but the rain here is different. We have experienced extended stretches of low clouds, fog, wind, and persistent, heavy drizzle. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but if drizzle can be heavy, it is here.

A few days ago we were driving along the Oregon coast, stopping at scenic overlooks, waterfalls, and lighthouses. These were beautiful places, at least I am assuming that they are, since we saw very little of these spots. The fog, wind, and drizzle restricted our views, and at times, our durability. There was the consistent temptation to say, “this would really be great if the sun would just come out, and allow us to enjoy the day.” Another version of this is, “we could enjoy ourselves if the weather would just cooperate.” There are probably some who are reading this who are thinking, “what is wrong with saying that?” After all, no one likes rain, wind and gloom. The problem with these sentiments is the topic this week.

In some ways all of our lives are similar. We all experience times of blessing, mixed with our respective shares of disappointment, pain, and loss. Just as we toured the coastline of Oregon in the midst of persistent drizzle, many of us go through life with a constant reminder that things are less than ideal. While difficulty may not be a downpour, it can be a constant, nagging companion through life. Sometimes we can catch ourselves saying, “if this would only change, then I would be happy,” or we might say, “if this circumstance changes, then I could be a better parent/friend/spouse, etc.” The problem is we do not have control over many of the circumstances of life, and if we surrender our joy or contentment to circumstances, then we are ceding a certain vitality to things we have no control over whatsoever.

I think Paul learned this lesson at some point in his life. I am not sure he learned this lesson while advancing to the Jewish high council at a young age, but I think he learned it in a prison cell, or recovering from his wounds, or perhaps wondering why he was thrown out of yet another town. From his place under house arrest, Paul wrote the following words, “for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Notice that Paul did not say that he had learned to be happy about bad things in life, he stated he had learned to not let bad circumstances undermine his joy, his peace, or his love. To place it in the language of my week, Paul had learned to keep his eye on the waterfall, not on the falling drizzle. He had learned to see through the fog so he can see the lighthouse clearer.

The truth is all of us will experience dark days in this life – none of us will be immune. Our choice is not whether trial will visit us or not, our choice is how will trial affect us. Pain will touch all of our lives, will we let it tarnish our heart, or mar the condition of our Spirit. If we are not careful we may find relationships strained, friendships tarnished, and love deadened because we let circumstances control our responses. Drizzle and fog can make the walk difficult, but they cannot take away the reality of the lighthouse on the coast. Perhaps some of us are walking through a persistent drizzle right now. If you are, keep on walking and lift up your head, there might be something greater that you can see through the gloom.

What a week this was going to be. After all, I had been looking forward to this week for months. Some friends, my brother and I were all going to northern Michigan for a few days of golf in a beautiful setting. I had been counting down on the calendar toward these days for quite some time, and as midnight came around Sunday evening, my countdown made it to two days left. All that changed in only an hour.

After only an hour of sleep I was awakened by a rather intense stomach ache. Two minutes later, that ache made it around to the right side of my back. A few minutes later, I knew exactly what was happening – a kidney stone. I tried to make it to the Emergency Room, but could not drive. I called my wife, who came home and drove me to the hospital. The staff confirmed my fears, and it started a two day process of pain medication, IVs, and eventually surgery to remove the stone. So the week that started with high hopes for great golf had now turned into pain, surgery, and recovery. This is not what I had in mind.

All of us have been in situations similar to this, where our high hopes have been dashed by unexpected illness or bad news. When times like these arise, how do we respond to these sudden bursts of trial and pain. Here are some things in which I have been reminded this week.

1. Be thankful. Why would anyone be thankful when things are not going well? There are many who have only experienced the worst of what life sometimes has to offer. For me, trial and serious hardship have been a visitor, not a permanent resident – for that, I am thankful.

2. Look around and be kind. As bad as the week is, it is not anyone else’s fault that a kidney stone lodged in my ureter, and I am not alone in my trial or pain. Perhaps there is one close to me who is also struggling, and would listen to one who is also going through trial. Maybe there are things I can do in trial that I could not do when all is well.

3. Listen for God’s voice. Don’t get me wrong – God does not give us trial just so He can talk to us. However, Scripture does tell us that when we are undergoing trial, we are sharing in the very life of Jesus Christ. Somehow, we are united with Christ in bad times, in ways that are not possible when all is well. If this is true, then maybe we should listen for God’s voice in the midst of pain and trial.

4. Live rightly. When I went to bed Sunday night, I did not know that my week would suddenly change just a few minutes later. In a larger sense, none of us are guaranteed anything. Any moment could be among our last. Live in such a way that if this is a last moment, there are no unmended relationships. No unreconciled arguments, no expressions of love that are left unsaid. May we not leave the important stuff for later, the time for the important people is now.

5. Live rightly, part 2. With this realization that nothing is guaranteed, have we lived rightly before God? Perhaps there is a barrier that has kept us from a close walk with Christ. Now is the time to take care of that. Confession and forgiveness should be a regular part of our world. When we do wrong, when we live selfishly, we need to take time to confess those things to God, and to each other. Hospital rooms are tough enough, we should not wait for those times to say the things we should have said months or years before. Do it now.

My prayer is that none of the people in my circle have one of these weeks of trial or pain anytime soon, though I imagine that some of you will. My encouragement is to live in such a way as to make these times of trial meaningful, and without other pains of life bleeding into these weeks. SO in this next week, find some things to laugh about, find some people to love, and spread that love to some new people in your life.

What a week! Many of us dread Monday mornings, knowing that it is the start of a long work week. Sometimes, it feels like there is a black cloud hanging over your head, as we get ready for work. Unfortunately for us, the black cloud hanging over our head this week was not metaphorical, but was very real, and it brought a torrent of wind and damage to where we live. This week, right at 8 AM, when the reality of a long week usually hits home, a whole new reality struck this week. A reality with no electrical power.

We have grown so accustomed to modern life, that we forget what life is like without A/C, without TV, without internet, and without lights. Well, we had a history lesson this week. Most of us got a taste of how it is to live without being connected to electrical power. We would have read a book, but we cannot see the print by candlelight. We tried to play a game, but the Wii needed power. So we sat in stuffy houses, worried about when our food would spoil, and when the lights would come back on.

Some of us had a solution to the problem. We had generators. So we had extension cords running throughout the house, powering the refrigerator, a few lights and fans, and maybe the TV – so the family could watch a movie together. This was certainly better than not having a generator, but there were problems with this as well. A generator is just not as good as being connected to the power. A generator cannot run central air, there are cords running everywhere inside the house, and you keep having to get gas to fill the gas tank on the generator. It is a little exhausting. Even while the generator was running, we hoped that the power could come back on soon.

I wonder if there is a lesson in here for those who are Christians. Sometimes we can begin to think that Christianity is a heroic, self-directed quest to avoid doing wrong things. If we avoid the bad things long enough, we will get a reward someday. We should remember that Christianity is the living presence of the risen Christ at work in and through us. There is enormous grace, and benefit so long as we stay connected to our source – Jesus Christ. At times we find ourselves disconnected from our source, and attempting to go it alone. Maybe a storm of life led to us becoming disconnected, or maybe it is selfishness or sinful decisions that separate us from Christ. Like many of us with generators this week, we try to live the Christian life on our own. Instead of a vibrant relationship, we substitute this individual moral quest. Instead of being connected with others, we seek to self-generate our own lives, at our own peril.

Like my house this week during the blackout, pretty soon I have wires running everywhere in my life. I think we also find that it gets pretty exhausting finding the source or energy to generate our own spiritual strength. We gain so much from simply staying in relationship to God, and in relationship to each other. There is so much joy, peace, and grace for those who spend time with Christ, and in turn, each other. Like my generator, we can make it for awhile, but it just gets so tiring and tough to keep track of. Like me around 1 AM Monday night, we find ourselves longing to be connected once again. Not because the generator is bad, but because it is not near as powerful as being connected to the electrical system.

In this week where we have learned how much we depend on ComEd, maybe we can learn another lesson as well. It is great to be connected with Christ. I know many of us, if not most of us, can get along fine generating our own power, and governing our own lives. These are good qualities. It is good to be motivated, and self-directed. Perhaps we can learn it is nowhere near as good as being deeply connected with Christ – every day. I grow so tired of power blackouts – in every area of life.

Most weeks we send out this essay with a spiritual point in mind. Not so this week. In the spirit of summer, this is a light hearted observation of our culture. So here are 10 ways to immediately make our society better – at least in the eyes of our inner curmudgeon.

1. If you have 23 items in your cart…. stay out of the express lane. Do you somehow think that the polite rules of society do not matter to you?

2. If your little Johnny fell off of the swingset at the playground, perhaps Johnny is clumsy, and this is a sign that you need to help him learn to swing. This is NOT a reason to hire a lawyer and shut down the playground for every kid in the neighborhood that wants to swing. Stop it.

3. A red light is not the place for you to balance your checkbook, read the paper, or do your nails. There are people who are trying to get to their kids’ baseball game, or make it to work on time. The green arrow is only on for 5 seconds, and if you take up 4 seconds – you get through but cost the people behind you two minutes. Repeat after me – the world does not revolve around you.

4. Tennis is a great game! It is played with a light, metal racket and fuzzy, green balls on outdoor courts in the sunshine. It is not played indoors in front of a TV screen with a plastic box in your hand. I’m just letting you know.

5. We cannot “bubble-wrap” our kids for life. Many kids today have never fallen out of a tree, came home with poison ivy, built their own tree forts, organized a neighborhood game by going door to door on their bikes, or had an acorn fight. This is not to their benefit.

6. Any magazine that has a shallow, self-centered, immature, celebrity on the cover – do not buy it, pick it up or read it. Why give them a voice? Let’s turn off every TV show that features these as well. Avoid all of it and let it wither on the vine.

7. This might be a week where your teenager comes home with the sad news that her teacher hates her. This is not cause for immediate parental involvement, but is a great teaching moment. Learn this phrase – deal with it. Thriving in the midst of difficult people is a skill that will help them throughout life.

8. To our political leaders – public office should NEVER result in the amassing of your own personal fortune. Gaining personal benefit from being in a leadership position is immoral. We do not need a new law for this, we need a new surge of leadership and character. We have more than enough laws, we have far too little character.

9. Stop giving participation trophies. Where did we get the idea that this was a good thing to do? Teaching self-esteem disconnected from any achievement if a recipe for sociopathic behavior. Striving is good, disappointment is good, recognition of excellence is good. Expect the best from each other, and then celebrate it when it happens.

10. If you do not like your neighbors, or the kids in the neighborhood – befriend them. Involve yourself in the lives of others. May we all seek to become people of influence, rather than possessors of things.

This is the weekend where we get to celebrate freedom. Most of us are fortunate to have lived in a place where we get to enjoy the benefits of freedom. In my lifetime I have changed jobs, traveled across numerous states, and bought a house relatively free from government intrusion. I have ridden a horse across mountains, taken part in 5 whitewater rafting trips, hiked to dozens of waterfalls, and done a host of other things simply because it seemed like a good idea. There are many things I have not done, but not because an authority told me it was forbidden (unless you count my wife). Freedom truly is a wonderful blessing.

Most of us probably fail to appreciate how much freedom is woven into our culture. As Americans, we tend to think and act more individualistically than most other parts of the world. We value Wyatt Earp at the OK Corral, the James Dean-inspired rebel who takes a stand, Luke Skywalker destroying the Death Star and Senator Smith who after going to Washington bravely fillibusters against the majority. Sometimes we even react fairly strongly against the person or the system that tells us we cannot do something, like Jack Nicholson fighting against Nurse Ratchett I must admit – I am like that. As a people, we like our space, we like our choice – in short, we love our freedom.

This might be a good time to reflect on the nature of freedom. Many people treat freedom as an end unto itself. Freedom becomes the absence of any restraint, any restriction, any responsibility that might encumber anything we want to do. Freedom becomes a freedom from…… Some might be surprised to learn that freedom is a featured topic in the New Testament, and it is treated as a great thing. In fact it is discussed as one of the direct benefits of being a follower of Christ. Yet I must admit that there is a big difference between our cultural idea of freedom, and the Biblical ideal of freedom.

In Galatians 5 Paul writes, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free… do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” It is interesting that Paul so closely connects freedom with a warning against becoming a slave again. Why? One of the reasons should be apparent to us. In our quest to be free from, we often pursue things that lead us into other places that entrap and endanger us. In selfish pursuits we forget about people we are connected to, and spend time trying to find the latest thing to make us feel something extra. So we end up depressed about our state, dependent upon a substance, and disillusioned about life in general.

Maybe a different view of freedom is in order. The Biblical idea of freedom is not freedom from every limiting thing, but a freedom to love each other, a freedom to engage our world, and a freedom to make new creation happen around us. This freedom is not a path away from responsibility, but a call to greater responsibility. We give freedom to our teenagers as they demonstrate responsibility to us. That freedom is a great blessing to them as they learn how to live, but it is also a burden as they realize that freedom has consequences. So it is with us, but we often forget this simple lesson. In Christ I have freedom, but also a great moral responsibility. Will I use this freedom to engage with this world, and with the maker of this world? Or will I abandon freedom for a selfish, ever-narrowing pursuit of a boundary-less existence? Freedom gives us a choice, but also gives us the consequences. As we celebrate freedom this weekend – choose wisely.