Day 89 - Oh to be free!

Not having been around in previous generations, I can only infer this from cultural evidence, but I sense that there has been a more profound feeling of freedom in earlier times. For all the talk about emancipation and democratisation, our society feels quite restrictive to me, and I often wonder why. Golden hued nostalgia is, of course, a misleading lens through which to view the past and for sure there have been some terrible examples of oppression. I do not claim that everything is worse than it used to be. But I do wonder why a lot of people around me seem to be feeling so threatened so often, given all the wealth, opportunity and technology around.

My suspicion is that our society has become too soft and complacent because of that wealth, opportunity and technology. In consequence, it has moved away from a reliance upon God.

Jesus tells me, in John 8:31-32, that I can be free. He also tells me how to go about it. “If you hold to my teaching, you are my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”

Now here we have something that can be experienced. If I want to feel free, and I do, then I can do that by learning the truth, The Truth, is Jesus’ teaching.

I think that you know that this is correct and it works, I certainly do. It’s a struggle, but on those occasions when we really try to follow Christ, we do feel properly free.

Psalm 112 shows that trusting God has, for a long time, been the way to be free. “All who fear God and trust in Him are blessed beyond expression.” And Proverbs 14 confirms this perception, “The wise are hungry for Truth, the mocker feeds on trash”.

The conundrum is that amongst those who appear to be the least free are church-goers. A bit further on in John, at 9:40-41, Jesus tells me why. Knowing the Truth but not acting upon it is to be wilfully blind. Quite a lot of churchy people seem like this in inventing ever more demanding rules and hierarchies that hide the Truth rather than reveal it. That’s human nature at work. As Jesus puts it in John 8:34 ff, “you are slaves to sin”.

The problem is that churchy people quite often write lists of ‘sin’ without really asking Christ what He means by the term. However, in John 8:36, Jesus says that “if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free”.

The Psalmist, the Proverb writer and Christ Himself all know what it is to be Free. Augstine put it memorably, “trust God, and do as you please”. Trusting God is not about thinking up regulations, it is about searching for Him. In Christ. Jesus’ teaching is not rule bound. Just one command – “Love God and each other”. (Mark 12:30-31).

Our generations are pretty much ruled by fear. Those of us who know God have our mission which is to show that fear is defeated in Christ. We can’t do that unless we are free. Only God makes the true rule, being free is found in living it.

John Cartwright