Free Indeed

Just a quick note before going out the door, into the incredible sunshine, for a little morning skiing up at the pass. Yesterday, in the midst of pastoral care I found myself talking with someone who's relatively new to faith, and the subject of freedom came up. I had pointed out how much I love those verses in John 8 about freedom, and observed especially, the promise of Jesus: If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. Wow! Those are powerful words. We were both observing how, in this world, it's a lot easier to change addictions than to actually become free. How incredible is this promise that, in Christ, the freedom available to us is complete.

Like Gandhi's struggles in India, or Dorothy Day's in America, freedom doesn't happen in a day, either inwardly or structurally. But if stick with it, keep seeking our calling, our destiny, keep seeking truth, freedom comes. The bonds will be broken. And what's true for the individual becomes true as well for systems, so that slavery, and apartheid, and genocide, and all that reduces humanity to less than our glorious calling, is broken. This is the promise.

It's tempting to begin with therapy or politics. But the Scriptures say that we should begin with Jesus, allowing him to renew our heart, receive love, and then work outward from their towards our own deliverance. Then, armed with capacity to love, we're called to carry that freedom into the world and become agents of such freedom for those unable to find their own voice, for whatever reason.

Here's what's crazy: I think I'd forgotten just about all of that. But in the course of conversation with this one hungry soul, I found myself getting excited about all of it once again. Thanks, Lord, for opportunities to share with others, such as happened yesterday. This is what helps me stay refreshed in Christ. May we all find chances for a good conversation today, tomorrow, no later than the next day, so that we can become excited about the possibility of being 'free indeed'.