What Does Freedom Look Like

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. Galatians 5:13 NIV

What does freedom look like? How would you define freedom? If I asked a dozen people, most likely I would get a dozen different answers but chances are the word free would be nestled in the answer. The dictionary answer for free is “At liberty; not bound or constrained. Discharged from arrest or detention. Not under obligation or necessity. Governed by consent and possessing civil liberties: a free society.” (American Heritage Dictionary)

Rajaa’s story of freedom was as a refugee fleeing Syria. Her story of freedom would tell how terrorists captured and tortured her husband Fouad for being a Christian. Rajaa’s story would include fleeing her homeland with her baby, her sister Samia, and their parents to a neighboring country. Her story would include being forced into a refugee camp living in a tent, rejected by the community because of their faith, and her father dying of a stroke. Yet in her story you find freedom but only as you hear it through her freedom that she found in faith. “Despite, and partly as a result of, their deep suffering and personal loss, the sisters long to share the hope of Christ with their countrymen who are in desperate need of reconciliation with one another and the God who loves them.”(from a Voice of the Martyrs article)

The free in freedom is seldom free. It takes years to gain freedom from paying off a car, house, or student loan. The free trial subscription to the network service is never free if you forget to cancel during the grace period. The person who is free from prison is only free if he follows the conditions of release. The problem with freedom it takes a lot of work to get and keep. “May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.” –Peter Marshall

Thursday marks the 248^th American Independence Day and will be celebrated with fireworks, parades, speeches, and cookouts. However, if you could go back in time to 1776, you would find freedom was just a dream. It would be years and the cost of lives, finances, and fighting before freedom would be a reality. Then it would be years later before Thomas Jefferson’s words, “All men are created equal” would become a reality for other Americans.

Freedom looks like sacrifice. As you fast forward through 248 years since 1776 you realize the free part of freedom continues to be a costly endeavor. The free part of freedom has been paid for through the thousands and thousands of men and women who have fought on battlefields, the staggering financial resources spent, and the ultimate sacrifice of those killed fighting for freedom. “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.” –Nelson Mandela

Freedom looks like commitment. It is always easier not to do something but the result of doing nothing leads to hopelessness and disaster. The old exercise proverb, “no pain, no gain” applies equally well in defining how freedom looks. Christians who take responsibility for a nation’s freedom can make a major impact. Dallas Willard wrote, “The world can no longer be left to mere diplomats, politicians, and business leaders. They have done the best they could, no doubt. But this is an age for spiritual heroes—a time for men and women to be heroic in faith and in spiritual character and power.”

Freedom looks like courage. Christopher Goffos writes, “A man can’t exhibit courageousness without performing some action to which courage can be attached.” Freedom is celebrated because of courageous men and women. Independence Day allows us to reflect and celebrate the courageous actions of those men and women who were determined to lead the nation to freedom.  Patriot Nathan Hale, facing imminent death, was able to utter the words, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

The same courage that laid the foundation of freedom that will be celebrated on July 4^th has been the benchmark of change that continues to undergird what freedom looks like. In 1960, little 6-year-old Ruby Bridges faced an angry mob to become the first black student at the William Frantz School. She entered school each day escorted by federal marshals for her safety. Child psychologist Robert Cole shared the story of one of the teachers at school. “I was standing in the classroom, looking out the window, and I saw Ruby coming down the street, with the federal marshals on both sides of her. The crowd was there, shouting, as usual. A woman spat at Ruby but missed, Ruby smiled at her. A man shook his fist at her, Ruby smiled at him. Then she walked up the stairs, and she stopped and turned around and smiled one more time! You know what she told one of the marshals? She told him she prays for those people, the ones in that mob, every night before she goes to sleep!” (Michael Wear, The Spirit of Our Politics)

July 4^th reminds us that for 248 years nothing important has changed when it comes to defining freedom. It comes only with sacrifice, commitment, and courage. Freedom requires us to be an engaged citizenry, especially people of faith. Focus on the facts, not opinions. Read and listen deeply and widely. Pray intentionally and most importantly, trust God unwaveringly as God is sovereign.

President Ronald Reagan’s words serve as a fitting reminder. “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”

God is great!