"Our Freedom To
Be"
by Rev. Christine
7/4/99
Today we are celebrating the birth of our country, the day we declared our independence from oppression. We think of being independent synonymous with freedom. As young adults we are told that we are to go out into the world and become independent from our parents. The term independence implies not needing anyone or anything. Being totally self-sufficient. In the last decades this has brought us people who are very "self" oriented; thinking in terms of what is in it for me, and without taking responsibility for the affects of their actions.
In this new age that is dawning upon us this very moment we have coined the word "interdependence." We are moving from co-dependent relationships where we depend on others for our emotions and survival, to the other extreme of not needing anyone and isolating ourselves in each "doing our own thing" regardless of its effect upon others. Each of these are not healthy living in them self -- it is a balance between the two.
We have rapidly moved from a national to a global view realizing what happens across the world affects us right here. When disaster strikes we send help. But we are also having to look in our own backyard to our family and community structures. On Mother’s Day I spoke on the breakdown of our families and structures, and to gain a new vision. I asked the question "What would our communities look like to support our children?"
The word interdependence means there is an inner connection between each of us, and what I do affects the whole. We honor this connection in all we do. We still hold the ideals of independence as "self-authority, self-assurance, self-responsibility, freedom in thinking, freedom in speak, freedom in worship, and freedom in our pursuit of happiness. But our concern is beyond just our self. We are involved in our family, community, and the world. We are now global world citizens free to be our full creative self sharing our special gifts with the world.
History shows us that we are always giving away our freedom for security, power, and the things of the world. The Bible begins with the story of Adam and Eve. They had all their needs taken care of, yet that wasn’t enough. There was only one restriction not to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil or duality. In their eyes they didn’t have total freedom. They wanted the power, the knowledge to be like the gods. Although warned they would lose their life, they ate and were expelled from the garden of Eden to care for themselves.
Another story about freedom is Moses. Moses chose to leave the security of a lavish life style, and power as a Prince of Egypt. He left it all to be free to live his heritage, even as a slave. It was upon leaving that he gained his expanded view of the One God, the I Am That I Am. He was guided to free his people, but they didn’t want to be freed. They preferred their life style as slaves to being free to be self-governed. Moses had to convince them otherwise.
Even after the exile they were ready to go back as soon as they felt abandoned by Moses. So God gave Moses the ten commandments, and the law. Eventually, they wanted a king and be ruled over for protection against their enemies. They soon found themselves enslaved to high taxes, and once again ruled over by another nation.
Then we receive the message of freedom from Christ Jesus. In John 8:31-32: "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." The Christ is speaking of the kind of freedom that can only come from within oneself. That inner knowing of God within. A faith so strong that even the worst storms cannot shake and break.
In John 7:24 we are told "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." The message is to go within to higher knowledge and wisdom for true understanding. He goes on to teach if we believe in an earthly father, or attach ourselves to those things of the world, then we cannot hear his words. Instead, we believe in lies, and we are also the author of these. Just as Adam and Eve had their free will to choose duality. So do we have the choice to whom shall we serve; our spiritual Christ Self, or human personality the ego.
Freedom is rising above appearances. Having the knowledge that we are the authors of our own experiences. The power is within us, not in the world of appearances. Jesus the Christ came to teach the Law of Grace and the Power of Love. Through these two, Grace & Love, we are freed from our past, from Karma to eternal life. We are free to live each moment new as little children. We are excited to explore and live life as an adventure.
When circumstances get uncomfortable, remind yourself that you created this reality. So you can just as easily create a new one. Be reminded to take more time for going within to your inner source. To lift your consciousness above the appearances, and to know the truth, "The Father and I are One." And the promise "Through God all things are possible." Following inner guidance you are ready to exercise your faith. Remembering to keep focused, having thoughts that support your vision, daily renewal in prayer and meditation, and then appropriate action based on faith.
This 4th of July, let us give thanks for the freedoms we do have. I’d like us to continue to keep the vision for our communities and children with the theme of interdependence. How we can together make a better world for the children of the future?
I’ll close with the following quote by Emmet Fox: "Unless you are seeking to embody the American Spirit in your own personal life and conduct, you are no true American, even though you may have authentic Mayflower ancestry.
If you allow yourself to judge the worth of a man by anything except his character, if you discriminate against him for any reason that is outside of his own control, you are no true American. If you judge him by his parents, or his connections, or his external conditions, instead of by himself, you are no true American.
If you allow yourself to be hampered by any question of precedents or traditions, you are no true American. If you think that any kind of honest work can be degrading, you are no true American. If you would not rather be independent in plain surroundings, than dependent in luxury, you are no true American.
If you allow yourself to be dazzled by any exalted Office, or intimidated or hypnotized by pretentious titles or gorgeous uniforms of any kind, you are no true American.
And, unless you believe that the poorest boy or girl doing chores around the farm, or playing on the sidewalk of a great city is just as likely — given the opportunity — to turn out to be the greatest soul in the nation, as the child who is reared in the lap of luxury, you are no true American."
Now I would like to hear from those present in what Freedom means to you.