Freedom Hangs Like Heaven

I've been thinking a lot about what exactly freedom means to us. In America, the word "freedom" conjures up a lot of ideas about independence and liberation. And to those of us familiar or interested in social justice, it brings to mind the oppression of millions and a freedom that seems so far from their grasps. People fight wars, give up their lives in pursuit of these freedoms. We've all heard spiels about both of these things. And I am definitely not discounting the heroism of such things. But I wish the Christian community talked a lot more about the complexities of freedom that rests in Christianity. Not the "you were born again in Christ and have freedom in Him" idea. While that is true, life with Christ, in communion with God, releases us to live above the absolute oppression of a sinful world, there's the other end of that that interests me so much more. We were born into absolute freedom. Absolute freedom to choose our own path, to choose to follow our desires and our wants, and freedom to follow a much narrower path in pursuit of something much bigger than ourselves.

Freedom is also what allows for sin and shame. Freedom is what brings us into the oppressions of the world. We keep ourselves from the freedom we so desperately long for by pursuing the wrong paths. My pastor has said on more than one occasion that "every single sin in our lives is an illegitimate attempt to meet a legitimate need." Well worded, right? The freedom we long for with God, the freedom that so many of us fall short of, is up to us. We can choose to grab ahold of the freedom we all were born with and pursue a sinful nature. Or we could take that freedom and willingly pursue the God of the universe. That is how far our freedom enables us to go, straight to the Creator of all things. Jesus was born into the same world as us, He had the same freedoms we do. The difference was in what He chose to do with those freedoms. We are given an opportunity to live in community with the Father. Every action we take can bring us farther or closer to that. It is up to us. Are we willing to give our lives for that sort of freedom?

need some encouragement?

And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

-After the Storm by Mumford & Sons.

Crazy Church People.

"Thank you for being a crazy church person."

This news couldn't wait. These are the words that came out of my best friend's mouth tonight. She called and told me that the most exciting thing had happened to her, and for the first time in perhaps ever, I heard pure joy in her voice. She first thanked me for being a "crazy church person" friend and apologized for making fun of me, telling me how she was glad I never backed down when everyone else had been so hard on me for my "crazy church person-ess." I had no idea my pursuit of real church, real Christ, real community, had gone noticed by even my closest of friends. I've never felt so encouraged. But that isn't the point in me writing this. My story is this:

Now she had finally seen what I saw, and it wasn't the Christianity we both had been raised in, it was Christ and what he meant his church to be. Within minutes she had revealed to me how she was ready to pack up and leave Christianity forever, leave the religion she had been brought up in. But how something had changed. And she was itching to show the world what she had just had an epiphany over. THIS was God moving. I have never seen something quite like it. She had this drive, this itch. She described it as "only scratching the surface." Thank God. Finally. Finally someone sees, that is what the reality of Christ is supposed to do. Scratch the surface. Make us dig for more. Long for more. Thirst, hunger, pine for more. She told me how the church of the Bible, the real church, wasn't like the churches today. She mentioned the small groups, house churches, prayer groups, community, and friendships we had fostered and how those were church, how face to face contact was what church was. I have never been so overjoyed for anyone ever. I heard tears of joy in her voice. And I felt tears well up in my eyes.

She told me I helped her see what Christianity really was. Little did she know in that moment she helped me see just as much.

The type of Christianity I think most people see or are familiar with is not even Christianity at all. And when I see someone, like today, whom I love more than myself, see this and not only see it but want to tell the whole world about it, I am encouraged, because THAT is what being a follower of Christ is.

This news couldn't wait. This news can't wait. The reality of Christ is so unknown, even in churches. Who Christ really is and what that means and what he has for us needs to spread like wildfire. There are so many "churched Christians" that don't even know this. It is through people like my best friend that I believe that real Christianity grows from.

Like wildfire, let it spread like wildfire.

Younger Years.

I look back on my childhood friends. Friends of parent's friends, friends from school, friends from church. The kids of my elementary years. And I suddenly get this sunken feeling in my stomach. I cannot think of a single person who I have known from an early age who is following Christ and hasn't chosen a path that glorifies themselves. Not a single one. What's scariest to me about this is that I grew up in Christian schools, Christian environments. There is no point in denying it: I was a pretty sheltered kid. So I'm left wandering: what happened?? I know full well I am not perfect. But why do I feel like the only one standing after 18 years of living life? Where have they all gone? More importantly, why have they all gone? What made my childhood friends feel the need to seek other paths? What appealed to them? Is this the the type of people modern Christianity is breeding? People who are aware of God but do little about it? I want to know why. Why they don't see the God I do. Because if they saw the Savior I see, the Savior I love, the Savior I rely on, I can't imagine they could turn their backs on something so sweet. So who is the Jesus they see? Who do they imagine him to be? Is he just a figurehead of a religion of empty promises and false hopes? What false images of Christ are we, as followers of Christ, supposed to be breaking and replacing with truth?

photo cred: film by hannah basalone

Sisters.

Three years ago I made the decision to walk away from the religion of my childhood and walked into a community of people that would show me more than I could ever imagine I would learn in all the years of my existence. When I did this I had no idea I would be walking into the absolute hardest but most wonderful years of my life. They would show me what it meant to live life intentionally, how to receive love, how to give love, how to show the love of Christ in very real ways, and would give me eyes to see the world like I never thought I could.

Among this community of people, six beautiful ladies stand out among the incredible rest. They've been there for me every single step of the last few years. They are my sisters. I've grow so much with and because of them. I thank God for a lot but I can never thank God enough for these girls. They've literally held my hand, been a shoulder for many many tears, and been the source of countless laughs. But more than anything, these girls taught me what it looks like to live out Jesus. They struggle. They love hard. They don't give up. They answer to the Father. They are absolute blessings.

Every single one of us is so so different,
Christine. Loves like a mother, selfless beyond belief, unwilling to compromise.
Alyson. Accepting of everyone she encounters, unwavering trust in God, enthusiastic.
Kailey. Understanding, clever, sure of the promises of God.
Anna. Confident in herself and her God, playful, endearing.
Dayena. humble leader, entertaining companion, compassionate soul.
Gemma. caring soul, seeks the heart of God, patient.

These girls. These girls embody to me what I believe the body of Christ should look like. Through them I have learned what it means to live out the scriptures, what it looks like to put self after others, what a family should look like, how to express true love, how to seek truth, how to forgive, how to seek Jesus, how to live.

What I have found in these girls, is what Christ is all about. Being relational. Sharing the truth of God by being a person who whole heartedly seeks to try to live their life in the most unwavering, Christ centered way possible is a daunting task. Finding yourself in Christ requires quite a bit of getting lost. Community holds the map. We can not possibly live and make this journey all by ourselves. What's a road trip without companions who also want to search out the world's largest coffee cup? My point is this: I could not have experienced life fully without surrounding myself by great individuals. They have taught me more than I could have fathomed. Their perspectives, their encouragement, their love...revealed a portion of Christ I would have never known. Seek Christ? Also seek fellowship with his followers. There's no other way.

*photo credit: Alyson Rae, one of the lovely girls mentioned above :)

Living.

Today, I ran across something my friend, Luke, had said a while back:

"I think they're in love with the Jesus religion created, which is sad because that's not reality at all. For some reason it's just about salvation, and hope, but the fact that Jesus said he came to give us life, and life to the fullest, is lost."

Easter is my absolute favorite holiday. If you know me at all, you know I start talking about easter mid-January. Everything about it is just so beautiful. Our lives are beautiful. I believe what my friend, Luke, said to be very very true. People put Jesus into this comfortable box and then are confused when they can't find him there. Jesus doesn't live in a nice neat box. That's not the reality. I think a lot of times we try to focus on hope and salvation that comes with easter. And that is great. Don't get me wrong. That is so important. But it really means nothing if we don't think about what Christ's death did for us here on earth. He reconciled our sins. He took on our burdens and sins and failures, disappointments, broken hopes, and sadness that a life of sin places on us. With one, single act he cast light onto all those things giving us not only an eternal life but a life to be lived to the full here on earth. We are reconciled. We can live. Not just hope to live. Actually live.

Happy Easter :)

This fine day.

A few quotes to ponder:

"The world is tired of ideology and is opening itself to the truth. The time has come when the splendor of this truth has begun anew to illuminate the darkness of human existence."
-Pope John Paul II

"The classic theologians based their understanding of human excellence on knowing and loving God, which brings proper human dignity and flourishing"
- Ellen Charry