"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
~Ronald Reagan in West Berlin, June 12, 1987~
United States President Ronald Reagan knew the stakes. He was well aware that what he was doing could possibly put him in history's spotlight...and he was right. As the American president stood before a crowd at the Berlin wall that day, he knew all too well that he was in ear shot of those in communist held East Berlin. Perhaps even those within the highest reaches of Soviet government would be listening. We now knew that they were. When the time came, Reagan made his plea..."Tear down this wall!" The Berlin wall, hastily constructed by the communist authorities in 1961, was the barrier which separated a free West Berlin from the East and the communist Eastern block. Over the years, thousands of freedom seeking citizens had defied certain death in their attempts to cross over, under of through the Berlin Wall to the freedom of the West. While many succeeded, many more also died in the attempt. Such was the pull of the freedoms enjoyed by those in the west. I never thought that in my lifetime I would see the fall of the Berlin Wall, but a few years later in 1989, that wall came down. Freedom had prevailed. I thought of these events this week as I pondered the writing of this post. Although I have never lived under the hands of a dictatorship, I know all to well what it must feel like. One of the definitions of a dictatorship is absolute authority. Indeed, those in East Berlin the day of President Reagans speech were not free to walk to West Berlin if they chose to do so. So, how is it that I could ever know the restrictions of living under absolute authority? Well, my experience comes not from living in a dictatorship, but from living with those who, for whatever reason, believed that they had every right to treat those around them with absolute authority. We've all seen that type, using imagined authority in order to control others. The huge difference between life in a dictatorship and dealing with someone who "feels" that they have authority over you is that you are free to walk away if you choose. I recall a conversation I had with a pastor in church as he discussed playing golf with a few of the men in the church. Interested, I expressed my interest in playing. However, this pastor claimed that these outings were more for guys in the church who "already know how to play." Of course, I was hurt that someone in church who had authority would treat me that way without so much as a thought. I was living under a dictatorship, and it sucked.
For freedom Christ frees us! Stand firm, then, and be not again enthralled with the yolk of slavery.
Galatians 5: 1, Concordant New Testament
I feel that one of the most misunderstood terms in Christianity is "Freedom in Christ." What does freedom in Jesus really mean? Well, I believe that it can mean something different to different people. Like those living under a dictatorship, freedom can have many meanings. Freedom can mean being free to decide one's life for themselves. Freedom can also mean being free to travel wherever we want. But freedom in Christ? What's with that? I never truly understood the freedom found in Jesus while I was attending church, because I was living under authority. There were rules that needed to be followed. There were expectations to be met. One of these expectations was that I was expected to be in church each and every Sunday. If I happened to miss a Sunday, the questions would come rapid fire once I returned. Where was I? Did I realize what I had missed? Had I backslidden? Like I said, I was living under the authority of the church. Words like freedom in Jesus seemed to me like something I achieved, like salvation and eternal life. My first taste of freedom in Christ Jesus came at a gathering of friends on a Sunday morning...outside of the church. Suddenly, I felt as if a weight had been lifted from me. I was free to speak to the freedom I finally felt. Not only was I living without the restrictions of church authority, I was basking in the freedom of knowing that Jesus would never condemn me for missing a church service. This meeting among friends did more for my realization of my freedom in Christ than anything I had ever before experienced. It has never been the desire of Jesus that the Lord's children live in the bondage of slavery to authority. On the contrary, it is through Christ that those chains of bondage have been broken {Romans 6:6}. Freedom is what we all have through Jesus.
Now all those who believe also were in the same place and had all things in common. And they disposed of the acquisitions and the properties, and divided them to all, forasmuch as some would have had need. Besides persevering day by day with one accord in the sanctuary, besides breaking bread home by home, they partook of nourishment with exultation and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor for the whole people. Now the Lord added those being saved day by day in the same place.
Acts 2: 44-47, Concordant New Testament
~Scott~
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