When we get our freedom back, let’s use it to serve others

I HAVE been making a list. I suspect I am not alone. My list consists of all that I am planning to do once “normal” life (whatever that will mean in the coming months) is allowed to resume. On my list are things that, I am sure, will be on many other people’s lists: visit the grandchildren, check up on more distant relatives, eat out with friends, take a trip to the coast.

At the heart of all these dreams is the idea of freedom: being allowed to do the things that we want to do. I was considering my list this week and my thoughts turned to Jesus. He is to my mind, the freest person of history and yet by today’s standards it can seem that he had no freedom at all.

In a country under enemy occupation he had not political freedom. He did not have the money or resources to enjoy what we would consider economic freedom. He was not free to travel. In fact throughout his life it is unlikely that he was ever more than seventy miles away from his home town. And yet there is something about his character that suggests he wasn’t limited by these constraints. Even when arrested, falsely tried and condemned to death there is in his bearing and words a sense that he is truly free. In fact, he told his followers, “No one takes my life from me…I lay it down freely”

As I think about the way Jesus exercised his freedom I am compelled to ask questions about my ideas of freedom. What if freedom doesn’t mean that I can do anything I want to do? Suppose we are trapped not by lack of democracy, money, access to information or lack of freedom to travel. Maybe freedom is really defined by our ability to love.

So, I may revisit my list and ask myself: in the coming weeks and months will what I do, where I go, how I spend my money, my social media postings serve me or others? You might want to check your list too.