Freedom from Relationships; Freedom through Relationships. Over the last two days, I have been listening to the latest tape from Mars Hill Audio, to which "audio magazine" I have subscribed for many years and which source of listening pleasure I heartily recommend.
In one conversation, Ken Myer, the "host", and his guest said something that really struck me. They said that relationships can liberate and not restrict. I have been carrying around that thought all morning.
Often I feel bogged down by the responsibilities imposed by so many relationships in my life. Maybe its a guy thing, but I would really prefer to be left alone most of the time. Maybe all the time. I think, however, that this is part of my fallen nature and not just my male nature. (On the other hand, if Eve had left Adam alone, then maybe things would have turned out better. But I guess Adam was hanging around Eve at the time. Now why in the world was that?)
But right relationships do liberate. Now and then my secretary, Jessica, doesn't come in, for one good reason or another. When she is absent, I sense her absence continuously as I work through the day, even if I am not conscious of it continuously. There is an element of relief with that sense. I am free of her. But in terms of getting my work done, discharging my responsibilities to my clients, I am confined by the lack of assistance. I am not free to do my best work. My relationship with Jessica, then, liberates me as a lawyer. This is a very simple example, of course, but I think it illustrates the principle.
Of course, we all need to be left alone sometimes. Jesus certainly had that need, and he took the time to be by himself. Those times, of course, were when he nourished THE relationship, that with the Father. He was most confined on the cross, when he was "liberated" from even that relationship.
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