Freedom
What is freedom? Our culture would tell us that freedom is autonomy, the power to freely make choices between various options. That is superficial freedom, the freedom of the prodigal son who spent his inheritance satisfying his own desires (Luke 15:11 32). This freedom ends in slavery, for there is nothing more insidious than the unrelenting struggle to satisfy our own desires.

Well then, since we cannot always do what we want, perhaps we should give up our wants, obey God, serve others, keep the law of Christ. That was the choice of the older brother who stayed home and served his father like a dutiful son. But that is no freedom; that is what Paul calls the curse of the law. When the prodigal son returned home, the older brother could not rejoice for he was bitter, bitter that he had served his father all these years without recompense. He was the slave of bitterness and envy.

Or, perhaps, we should adopt an ethic of exchange, you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. This works for people who have something to market, whether it be wealth, looks, emotional vitality, or influence. They can give and get in return. But this ethic won't work for those who are poor, emotionally broken, uneducated, or physically unattractive. Such people have little to offer, and therefore, they are usually avoided by those of greater assets. This ethic is very common, and it can masquerade as Christian love. But in the end, it gives way to the tyranny of our own desires, for it is quite selfish and utterly loveless.

Where does that leaves us? In leaves us with a dilemma: in every decision we either become the slaves of our own desires, or the slave of the desires of others, or, we negotiate an exchange and remain as selfish and enslaved as ever. The root of these three alternatives is selfishness, either ours or that of others. None of this is freedom.

There is a way out: the gospel. There is nothing more mysterious, heart rending, and explosive, than the passion narrative culminating in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. When this gospel is truly heard, something extraordinary happens. First, the narrative is so humble that it never crushes us or captures our allegiance without consent. It always leaves us free. Secondly, we sense the intense love of the man who died for us, and at the same time, we glimpse the love of God, taking human form, coming among us, dying, and making us his own. This love is utterly unselfish, God gives himself to us, in love for us. Then, in love, our old sinful selfish self is broken down and we are given the freedom to love as he loved us.

What then is freedom? It isn't autonomy, the superficial freedom to live as we please. Freedom always entails commitment to God and others. It isn't obedience to God's law as an alien demand, but rather, obedience to God's commands because God is love. It isn't calculated exchange, but giving without recompense. It is a response to the gospel, the grace to love God, heart soul, and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves. You want to be free? Hear and receive the gospel. That is freedom. 

The Rev. Robert J. Sanders, Ph.D.
May, 1995

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