Freedom from ... Freedom for ...

Freedom seems to be a pervasive human ideal. Whether people are free, or remain yearning to be free, freedom is a rallying cry, a driver of heroic effort, and deemed worth extreme sacrifice to secure or preserve. The Liberty Bell serves as one of those reminders to us of our country's emphasis on freedom. The events of the past week have served to shine spotlights of different colors on our notions of freedom. At the core, I believe that there are two types of freedom--freedom from; and freedom for.

Our early patriots were seeking freedom from what they viewed as oppression from the tyranny of a distant king and empire. But they also had clear ideas of what they were seeking freedom for. They were not merely wanting to be free--like a zoo animal suddenly released from its cage. They wanted to do something with their freedom. The early patriots wanted to be free to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. Did they achieve what they set out for? Some may have, but many died in the effort to secure freedom for their children, neighbors, and friends.

What is it about freedom that makes it such a compelling ideal to pursue? Is it a God-given right? Is it the ability to chart our own course, determine our own path? Whatever it is about freedom that makes it worth pursuing, we seem to have forgotten that freedom carries with it responsibility. A piece in the New York Times got me thinking. (www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/opinion/12friedman.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage) Contemporary America seems to want freedom without responsibility. Lack of constraints without values. Freedom from anything that "holds me back," but not freedom for something of meaning or value.

What do you want to be free from? Debt? 25 extra pounds? A stifling job? A boring church? A suffocating spouse? Limited education? Why? What will that "freedom from" put you in a position to pursue? Before going after the freedom from, it may be a good idea to get a handle on the freedom for. And sometimes we need to get a good handle on the freedom for so that we can endure through the difficulties of getting freedom from.

The church of this generation has done a great disservice by preaching a gospel of freedom from without the concomitant freedom for. Freedom from condemnation is a fine thing--actually better than fine. But I do not believe that freedom from condemnation was ever God's stopping point. He has always wanted His people and His church to be about more than just freedom from.

We are set free to pursue a life of service and devotion. Of deep-seated joy and mission. Of living for someone and something bigger and greater than ourselves. And we are freed from condemnation so that we can be free to live in this new way. Why cheapen what God has done by just making it about not going to hell? Why not embrace the fullness of what God frees us for--a new way of living? Sure, it may not sound like so much fun. It may not be as "attractive." It may not get as many people to give as much time or money or want to join. But that really isn't the issue, is it? I certainly want as many people as possible to know that they can be free of condemnation, but even more so, I want those who are free from condemnation to know that they are also free to live a new kind of life. A life of service and self-sacrifice. A life of integrity and wholeness. A life that does not merely have a spiritual component, but where the spiritual is what brings all of life together and gives it holistic meaning.

Why settle for freedom from, when you can pursue freedom for as well?

BTW, this line of thought also relates to running, but that is for a different post.

Pressing On!
-Ken