What’s the “free” in FREEDOM TOUR?
It’s kind of a loaded word. Freedom might mean USAmerican freedom, the right to live our lives without unreasonable government interference. Or it might simply mean freedom of movement; “not in jail” = “free.”
The FREEDOM TOUR works toward an end to human trafficking, freedom from slavery. But I hope we seek something more significant. True freedom must be something beyond “lack of enslavement.”
What I hope for…for our kids, but also for our cyclists and volunteers, for you, for me…is the freedom involved in a relationship with Jesus. In that relationship we’re free to choose:
How we’ll respond.
What we’ll believe.
The risks we’ll take.
Who we’ll listen to.
The legacy we’ll leave.
Whether we’ll forgive.
How generously we’ll give.
Which allegiance we’ll serve.
How and who we’ll love.
Add your own items to a literally endless list. You and I are completely, totally free to make the important choices that impact our lives and the lives of those around us. But…
Choice doesn’t mean control. Jesus invites us to choose…and trust, because we don’t get to pick (or mostly even know) the consequences of our decisions. He asks us to trust Him for the outcome.
And there’s the sticking point. We want the freedom to choose, AND we want control over the outcomes.
In other words, we want to be God.
So, too frequently, we get it backwards. We chase the illusion of control by trying to manipulate short-term results. In the process, we compromise closely held principles because circumstances convince us the end justifies the means.
Jesus invites us to decide in advance to trust Him for the outcome. Choose based on TRUE NORTH, the eternal principles and truth that don’t depend on circumstance. Do what’s right, regardless of consequences, since we don’t control the (long-term) consequences anyway. Release the control we never had in the first place.
Free to choose. Free to trust.
Free.
There’s no limit to what a committed, passionate group of people can accomplish when they work together and trust God for the outcome.
(from thoughts posted March 2, 2015)