Liberty

It's strange that often the only way in which we find true liberty is through restraint.  I suppose this is what it means to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness before "all these things" are added to us, or to lose your life to save it, or any of the other commands in Scripture.


Think about the Old Testament prophets.  Poor Ezekiel; God's command to him was:

Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their punishment. For I assign to you a number of days, 390 days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment. So long shall you bear the punishment of the house of Israel. And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah. Forty days I assign you, a day for each year.  And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against the city. And behold, I will place cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed the days of your siege. - Ezekiel 4:4-8

Or Abraham, called out of his father's home into the fierce wilderness by the voice of a God he barely knew.  Or Joseph, enslaved for years before any vision of hope and justice appeared.   Or Daniel and his three friends, sacrificed for their faith.

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy— wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. - Hebrews 11:32-40

That last line is what really gets me: "And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised..."  Is it possible to see with a vision that extends beyond the span of your own life?  To strive for something beyond what appeals to our senses?

I was talking to a philosopher-friend and he was trying to teach me about various forms of and epistemology, or the ways and validity of things we think are true.  Some of the theories seemed rather wild and absurd: metaphors for shadows in caves, how our reality might only exist if someone else perceives it (like the reverse of the "if a tree falls in the woods" question), and so on and so forth.  They sounded silly... and then I wondered how my faith and the things I do for it might sound at times.

But then I thought about Jesus, the author and perfector of faith.  And I realized (again) that the one who truly demonstrated self-restraint, self-sacrifice, and self-emptying was God Himself.  Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant...

And so that is what I want to be.  A servant.  I am not a very good one, imperfect in far too many ways, but at least I know that my ruling authority, my Lord, is just, good, and God.