Dear Fellow Trekker,

This month I want to pass the baton concerning freedom. What a ubiquitous word in our culture! Pick up any newspaper, listen to any newscast, and the word pops to the surface like a cork. Unfortunately, in our society, if you asked the man on the street what freedom is (not what it permits), he or she may be at a loss for words.

As American as Mom and apple pie, freedom we love. But freedom to do what? Be careful. Don’t answer too quickly – the Pharisees and scribes protested to the Lord that they had never been a slave to anybody! How soon they had forgotten the history of their slavery in Egypt. Here are some personal postulates on freedom.

Let’s briefly examine each in light of practical, relational and eternal perspectives.

1. Freedom is the unconstrained ability to be and do according to the Creator’s intent. God created us to be in relationship with Him, and to exercise our freedom of choice within the bounds of that relationship. We are free to achieve and maintain the substance…His likeness and image… of our being. So to not be free for a purpose is irrational. But choices have consequences. To think otherwise dooms us to perpetual adolescence. It all started in the Garden. God said to our great grand father, don’t eat of a certain tree or there will be consequences. “You will die Adam”. Pretty straightforward and ever since, we have been betting against Divine odds. Adam could not sort out good and evil, and neither can we.

2. Freedom is a means to an end; if not tied to the purpose of relationships, it will eventually destroy itself. I discovered Edmund Burke, the 18th century British statesman and author, early in my youth. One of his more famous quotes is applicable: “What is liberty (freedom) without… virtue? It is… madness, without restraint. Men are qualified for liberty (freedom) in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites.” Man must master his passions. But is he free to do so? We are bound up in our sins, prejudices and misunderstandings. Responsible for our actions, yet anything but free! Can or should the government create the moral or legal chains? A national dilemma as I write. Are teachers free to voice their opinion on any issue of the day in the name of academic freedom? Is patriotism a virtue which should be a governor on run-away speech? When I was learning to drive a car 55 years ago, I discovered a car without a governor would quickly burn itself up with a wide open throttle. Are our mouths throttles, or is a controlled response a true sign of freedom.

3. The exercise of freedom is always circumscribed by the consequences of its use or abuse. We must bridle our appetite to say or do anything we desire. Freedom of speech or of assembly is not without bounds. We cannot say anything, at any time, to anyone and claim our ‘rights’ without consequence. (If you believe that, try it on your employer… or your wife?) Freedom is not license. Rampant individual freedom without thought of impact on family, neighbor or community, will destroy all relationships, deny all loyalties. To make any decision we desire in the name of personal freedom, can ruin our marriage, force our discharge from our employer, corrupt our thought life, and bankrupt the moral capital of a nation.

4. Since freedom’s expectations are so high, the unfettered exercise of freedom is impossible until man is set free from his chains. Freedom throughout the land and shouted from the housetops is a charade if man is not born free from above. If the churches do not toll the bell of true freedom, it is an illusion. The greatest burden each carries is our own guilt of missing the mark – that prize of high calling to be the way we were created to be  – in relationships we were created to enjoy! The Scripture is pregnant on the subject! The Apostle John records Jesus words:   “… If you live out what I tell you, (sounds like God’s instructions to Adam, doesn’t it) you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience the truth, and the truth will free you.” The truth is the Lifegiver, Jesus, the lowly carpenter, who just happened to be God in the flesh as well. This same Jesus gave His life a ransom for many, to relieve us from guilt and therefore, give us true freedom in resurrection and transformed living. So if the Son sets you free, you are completely free. Check out the rendering of John 8:31- 47 in Eugene Peterson’s “The Message”. (Buy one tomorrow if you don’t own it.) This dialogue will grip you and pull you into eternal reality if you are at all wavering in the “freedom” pursuit.

5. Freedom is our birthright, but freedom is not to be squandered. If we are in a personal relationship with the God of the universe, I believe we understand the power and blessing of freedom. And those who do, make good citizens in general, and cherish every expression of it. Freedom is life without regret. Paul says it well to the Galatians, “It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse (abuse of freedom) to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows.” Yes, yes, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom! Where the Spirit of God is absent, in the human heart, the hearth, the school, the church, the nation, there is no freedom. Let us be clear on that.

Fellow trekkers, be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves on this subject of freedom. Trek beyond worn-thin political bromides. True freedom is in Christ alone. Let us accept it as a personal gift, as we embrace Him, the Freedom Grantor. And let us live it publicly in the

Market place and on the mountain trails.

Trekking in freedom with you,

Jim Meredith