Love and Freedom!
The more I thought about freedom, the more I have begun to ask myself what it means to be free.
So I was reading one of my favorite authors, Ravi Zacharias ("Can Man Live Without God"), who quoted one of his favorite authors, G.K. Chesterton, who said: "They have invented a new phrase that is a black and white contradiction in two words - "free love." As if a lover had been, or ever could be, free. It is the nature of love to bind itself (to its object)."
Or there is the blatantly obscene song lyric, "Love means you never have to say your sorry." How awful and how totally untrue! The reality of love is that one ALWAYS says he/she is sorry to the loved one - because any thing, no matter how small, which comes between loved ones (I avoid the term "lovers" because it has too much of a sexual/romantic connotation.) can cause a disconnection which is painful, destructive, and to be avoided at all costs - the relationship is too precious to allow such interruptions.
Anyway, when I thought about the binding nature of love, it occurred to me that the more we love, the more we are bound to the object of our love and commitment. When we love our spouse, we lose some freedom to be able to give ourselves to him/her. When we have children, we lose a great deal of freedom because they demand and require so much of us to grow into adulthood. When we love friends, we also lose some freedom because we are committed to the friendship with time and energy. And so it goes.
For the Christian, to love God means we totally relinquish our freedom to become His servants - which in turn makes us more free than we could ever be without Him.
Let's go back. When I love my wife, I do not feel "enslaved" to her, but my love willingly and gladly serves her because I want what is best for her. The same with my children and my friends. Pope John Paul II was right when he said: "Freedom is the power to do what is right!" When I love I am more free than when I am seeking to service my selfish wants. Self love is the ultimate slavery. It is a bondage that only the love of God can free us from.
(And consider that God loves us so much that He bound Himself to us and gave up His power over us, enabling us to be free to reject Him. WOW!)
In love, then, we find freedom and without love there is no freedom, because without love there is no relationship to which we can give ourselves to be set free. Because love casts out fear. (I John 4) And freedom is living without fear.
Maybe that is a better definition of freedom than being without boundaries. The more I love the less fear I have, and the more I love God, the less bound I am to the world, sin, and what people can do to me. The more I love, the more free I am to be me - to be the person God created me to be.
To live without fear, that is what true freedom is. And that is no illusion!
What do you think?
Charlie
The more I thought about freedom, the more I have begun to ask myself what it means to be free.
So I was reading one of my favorite authors, Ravi Zacharias ("Can Man Live Without God"), who quoted one of his favorite authors, G.K. Chesterton, who said: "They have invented a new phrase that is a black and white contradiction in two words - "free love." As if a lover had been, or ever could be, free. It is the nature of love to bind itself (to its object)."
Or there is the blatantly obscene song lyric, "Love means you never have to say your sorry." How awful and how totally untrue! The reality of love is that one ALWAYS says he/she is sorry to the loved one - because any thing, no matter how small, which comes between loved ones (I avoid the term "lovers" because it has too much of a sexual/romantic connotation.) can cause a disconnection which is painful, destructive, and to be avoided at all costs - the relationship is too precious to allow such interruptions.
Anyway, when I thought about the binding nature of love, it occurred to me that the more we love, the more we are bound to the object of our love and commitment. When we love our spouse, we lose some freedom to be able to give ourselves to him/her. When we have children, we lose a great deal of freedom because they demand and require so much of us to grow into adulthood. When we love friends, we also lose some freedom because we are committed to the friendship with time and energy. And so it goes.
For the Christian, to love God means we totally relinquish our freedom to become His servants - which in turn makes us more free than we could ever be without Him.
Let's go back. When I love my wife, I do not feel "enslaved" to her, but my love willingly and gladly serves her because I want what is best for her. The same with my children and my friends. Pope John Paul II was right when he said: "Freedom is the power to do what is right!" When I love I am more free than when I am seeking to service my selfish wants. Self love is the ultimate slavery. It is a bondage that only the love of God can free us from.
(And consider that God loves us so much that He bound Himself to us and gave up His power over us, enabling us to be free to reject Him. WOW!)
In love, then, we find freedom and without love there is no freedom, because without love there is no relationship to which we can give ourselves to be set free. Because love casts out fear. (I John 4) And freedom is living without fear.
Maybe that is a better definition of freedom than being without boundaries. The more I love the less fear I have, and the more I love God, the less bound I am to the world, sin, and what people can do to me. The more I love, the more free I am to be me - to be the person God created me to be.
To live without fear, that is what true freedom is. And that is no illusion!
What do you think?
Charlie
posted by Charlie | 2:26 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home