Every school day of my childhood began with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. So it is not surprising that on occasion the words “with liberty and justice for all” run through my consciousness. It was not until much later in life that I began to comprehend what “liberty and justice” are. Liberty is the foundational principle of our constitution. France even gave us a statue to memorialize such. According to the dictionary liberty is “the freedom to think or act without being constrained by necessity or force.”*
Galatians 5 is about our freedom in Christ. Christ liberates us from the guilt and punishment for our sins. He also frees us to live by principles instead of rules and regulations by helping us understand that righteous laws emanate from love. The above definition of liberty comes into question. In II Corinthians 5 Paul wrote, “The love of Christ constrains us.” We are not at liberty to indulge our lusts. As is often said, “Our liberty stops at the tip of another’s nose.” The liberty I spoke of each morning as a child is maintained by the threat of force. Now that childhood is a distant memory I am instead constrained by genuine care for others.
Liberty can only exist with constraints or we would destroy ourselves and others. My sinful nature must be held under control. Freud called it our superego constraining our ego, which calculates how to feed our id. How grand it is to be constrained by love instead the constraints of the fear of punishment. When liberty originates in love we cease to be aware of love’s constraints because we are doing what we want to do. That’s liberty.
Written by Roger Bothwell on December 12, 2013
Spring of Life, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org