September 28

Okay, so we are free. And we can celebrate that freedom.

And then life happens.

Right now, I am in above my head at work. I am lucky in that my boss understands that I am in above my head and allows me to make mistakes without the threat of summary execution. I have not always been so lucky.

But that having been said, when I get home in the evening, I feel as if I have run the gauntlet. My work life is from the Indiana Jones school of business survival. It is one of the things that happens in life and before you take this as complaining, we got through all the hurricanes so far and haven't lost life, roof, or electricity.

The point is that I am free and that God invites me to bask in and celebrate that freedom. But then the crap creeps in from around the edges and before long, I am so busy beating back the crap such that it becomes a consuming, full-time occupation. And before long, I have given up my freedom in exchange for the work of making it through the day.

So how does one avoid this fate?

Beats me. I wish I knew. But I think it starts through community. It starts by having people around you who can remind you of your freedom. Because freedom isn't free; it's hard. It's hard to maintain and it's hard to remember and you need people around you who will be with you and remind you. With them you don't have to worry about agendas or who's out to take credit for what you did or whether they want what you have.

The Bible counsels us to seek wise counsel. But it is equally important that you find wise counsel that will stand with you and listen to you when you are broken-hearted or just sit with you when you don't want to be alone.

I have a wife who is a better companion than I deserve. Companion almost sounds like an insult in the context of marriage and love. But it's not, really. At the end of it, that's the gift of marriage. God gives us to each other so that we can stand by each other and know that someone will be there no matter how bad the day has been. I've never though about this before, but in the bounds of marriage, we are to be God's hands to each other. When I have been beaten and tossed about during the day and I come home and my wife hugs me, she becomes God's hands to me. What a wonderful miracle.

I meet with a group of guys each Saturday morning. Until quite recently, I stayed away because of things happening at my church. When I went back two Saturdays ago, they were genuinely happy to see me and they accepted me even though I sat and said almost nothing. And they accepted me this past weekend when it was appropriate for me to say a great deal.

You can't be free alone. Freedom requires help. And that help is why a supportive community is so important in the context of Christian living.