Freedom
It’s strange that I though, and not too consciously, that graduation would mean freedom. In actuality, when you have to start paying bills, there is even more pressure to succeed. I’ve always felt a great pressure to pass my classes and do well in school. But the consequences of not being able to pay bills is even greater than the consequences of failing a class. What it comes down to is the basic nature of existence in this world. We are physical beings, and as such, require limited physical resources for our continued existence in this world. Freedom from this is unobtainable in this life. The reality of it is that one will always have responsibilities that have to be fulfilled. It is easy to let this cause fear. It is easy to worry about not being able to buy what is needed or pay one’s bills.
I think it is freedom from this fear that is desired most. It always seemed like great wealth would extinguish this fear. If you have a lot of money, you don’t have to worry about having enough money right? Wealth would bring great freedom from fear it would seem. But, in reality, this is probably not true. People with more wealth seem to experience either the same amount or more stress and fear than those with less. More wealth means control of more resources. Control of more resources means greater responsibility and often a more complicated existence.
I posses a great desire to exist without having to worry or mess with the details of physical reality. Jesus said “man does not live by bread alone,” and so my heart is always set on higher things. Life is about much more that the things we have to do to get by, but the things we have to do to get by actually come first because they are required for existence. Like in the hierarchy of needs, as physical beings, we need these things to survive and to even be able to spend time on higher things. It seems that we where originally meant and made to exist without physical concerns, but we are part of a fallen world. So, we will not be free from the responsibilities and the menial task of life, but maybe we can be free from the fear of failure in meeting our physical needs. Jesus tells us many times not to fear. But more specifically he says not to worry about having our needs met. “Consider the lilies of the field,” and “consider the birds in the air.” They are fed and they are beautiful, so how much more for God’s children. He also says many times that he who trust in the lord will be taken care of by the lord. And, if we physically suffer in this world, he is there to help us through it and to bring something good from it. We know because he says that our suffering is temporary. Life is short, and there can be great joy and hope in achieving the type of existence we are meant for in the next world.
Jesus said that he has come to bring us freedom, and we can achieve this freedom when we let go of our fears and trust in him. Trusting in Jesus means giving up what little control we think we have of our selves and lives, and giving our lives to him. Through this we can achieve true freedom.
I think it is freedom from this fear that is desired most. It always seemed like great wealth would extinguish this fear. If you have a lot of money, you don’t have to worry about having enough money right? Wealth would bring great freedom from fear it would seem. But, in reality, this is probably not true. People with more wealth seem to experience either the same amount or more stress and fear than those with less. More wealth means control of more resources. Control of more resources means greater responsibility and often a more complicated existence.
I posses a great desire to exist without having to worry or mess with the details of physical reality. Jesus said “man does not live by bread alone,” and so my heart is always set on higher things. Life is about much more that the things we have to do to get by, but the things we have to do to get by actually come first because they are required for existence. Like in the hierarchy of needs, as physical beings, we need these things to survive and to even be able to spend time on higher things. It seems that we where originally meant and made to exist without physical concerns, but we are part of a fallen world. So, we will not be free from the responsibilities and the menial task of life, but maybe we can be free from the fear of failure in meeting our physical needs. Jesus tells us many times not to fear. But more specifically he says not to worry about having our needs met. “Consider the lilies of the field,” and “consider the birds in the air.” They are fed and they are beautiful, so how much more for God’s children. He also says many times that he who trust in the lord will be taken care of by the lord. And, if we physically suffer in this world, he is there to help us through it and to bring something good from it. We know because he says that our suffering is temporary. Life is short, and there can be great joy and hope in achieving the type of existence we are meant for in the next world.
Jesus said that he has come to bring us freedom, and we can achieve this freedom when we let go of our fears and trust in him. Trusting in Jesus means giving up what little control we think we have of our selves and lives, and giving our lives to him. Through this we can achieve true freedom.