Freedom

I'm fairly sure that I have blogged before about one of my favorite Rob Bell quotes which states, "But freedom isn't being able to have whatever we crave. Freedom is going without whatever we crave and being fine with it."

But I heard something else about freedom recently that drew my mind back both to that quote but also to the whole topic of freedom. Erwin McManus, from Mosaic church in L.A., is, or was, preaching a series of sermons entitled "Intersections". He often talks about how much he loves L.A. and being in conversation with it. His wife Kim asked him why he does have a conversation with, or about, some of the billboards (which are having a conversation with his city). This series was his response.

Perhaps the most provocative billboard of them all read, "Life is short, Have an affair" There are a few things to respond to from this ad, but he only detoured for a short time relating it to the blatant topic/issue of adultery. During that time he said made the short, simple, and yet significant statement, "Life is short but don't shortchange your life."

But that's not really about our topic of freedom, is it? So back to freedom:

"What brings you freedom is not the freedom to chose. It's the choices you make in your freedom that determine whether or not you will be free."

It is interesting, isn't it? So often we look at freedom simply as the right or power to chose. But how much of the bondage in which we live is a result of those choices? I think Erwin is right. God has, after all, given us free will. But free will isn't freedom. There are many people in bondage even though they still have a free will. We have the freedom to chose a whole plethora of things, or not. But freedom to chose isn't really freedom is it? It is the results of the choices that we make that bind us or set us free.

Jesus said, "Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." Perhaps he told us that truth would set us free because he knew how tempting the lies are (McManus).

Are you free today?