by Pastor Douglas Brauner

The Joys and Sorrows of Freedom

I find it curious that the parks department decided to install a barbed wire fence around Black Forest Regional Park near me, a park in which I have chosen to waste film and space on my hard drive. There are no cattle in this park and deer easily hop over the fence. What is the purpose of the barbed wire?

The barbed wire reminds me of people’s inhumanity, especially of concentration camps. What would it have felt like to be held like cattle and worse in these confines?

The barbed wire became a symbol of slavery.

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
Galatians 5:1 English Standard Version

One side of the fence represents freedom and the other side slavery. Either we are bound to Jesus and free from sin or we are bound to sin and free from Christ. There is no middle ground.

We experience joy and sorrow on both sides of the fence.

It is hard to describe the joy of being free from sin in Jesus. His love brings us into the presence our gracious Father who will never leave us. Yet, there is sorrow in our souls over our inability to live fully in this mercy and grace.

When separated from Christ, and living on the other side of the fence there is the joy of the world’s acceptance and the world’s way of living. Yet, there is sorrow in our souls because sin reigns and we experience the death of intimacy with our Creator God.

Paul’s words create tension. On the one hand, being in Christ means that we are the freest people in the universe. On the other hand, being Christ means that we are slaves, bound by the chains of love to his heart. The persistence of our sinful selves cries out for freedom from these bonds, but the work of the Holy Spirit keeps us in the freedom for which Christ set us free.

Don’t be afraid of this tension, the chains of Jesus’ love are stronger than deception of sin.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado