I have a half Russian friend with a Russian name. I jokingly refer to my friend with the moniker “Comrade _______.” The other day as the thought of meeting this friend came to mind, I suddenly thought of changing the moniker to “Citizen”, thinking of Les Misérables. Then I wondered why I thought that as a replacement. This discussion in my mind precipitated a whole line of thought.
You see, freedom from a Humanist perspective, whether “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” or “Peace, Land, and Bread”, in the end always ends in slavery or oppression to one degree or another. In the post-modern mind, the slogan might well be “Tolerance, License, Happiness.” Just as the one led to the Reign of Terror, another to tortures and gulags, the latter is leading to division, accusation, marginalization, and destabilization. So, what is the solution?
Freedom from a Christian perspective is freedom from the penalty of sin, the power of death, and one day the presence of sin and death to the enabling to what is right and good. Our motto might well be, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 1:7 et al) Freedom is not the throwing off of all restraints but the joyous submission to God’s life-giving, easy yoke (Matthew 11:28-30). Should we seek the physical and mental betterment of men and women on this Earth now? Yes, definitely we should, but it is not our priority goal and will not be our universal and continuous experience. Peace with God is our highest goal and peace with our fellowman is our second.
May you know God’s freedom in your life through faith alone in Christ alone by the grace of God alone according to the Scripture alone to the glory of God alone.
CreatorWorship 