So far, in our journey to discover our identity, we have considered these eternal traits of God: Life, Light, and Law. We introduced Liberty last week, but in doing so, we ended up reaffirming this universal truth: Law first; then Liberty. Remember, previous articles are always available at http://www.webbweekly.com. Now, let’s explore Liberty.
I couldn’t wait to turn sixteen. Why? I wanted the freedom of a driver’s license. I wasted no time getting my learner’s permit, fulfilling supervised driving requirements, and taking my driver’s test in my parents’ car. I took the test in Allentown and failed. Yeah, the officer told me the test was over and asked me to park my car in a space he pointed out. As we approached the space, there was a stop sign stuck in a traffic cone that had been a part of the test. I started to slow down, and he said, “You can disregard that stop sign.” Mom always told me to obey police officers, so I rolled through the stop sign and parked the car. He looked at me and said, “You just failed the test. Don’t ever listen to a passenger. According to the law, a stop sign must be obeyed — and you didn’t obey it.”
Because I hadn’t obeyed the law, my freedom was delayed by a month. I wised up. Some friends told me that the driver’s test in Lehighton, PA, was a breeze. I decided to make the 30-minute drive and took the test there. The officer directed me through downtown Lehighton, had me do a three-point turn around, and parallel park. That was it, and I left with a driver’s license. I was finally free!
Or not. I didn’t own a car. I could sometimes use my dad’s old truck, but doing so came with major restrictions and very limited availability. I had a document in my wallet that said I was free to drive, but without a car, what good was it?
I worked hard, saved money, and found a 1974 Ford Mustang II for sale for $1,800. It had major rust in the rear fenders, but I knew I could fix it up. My dad helped me get an auto loan for $1,000, and I walked out of the bank with a payment book. Our next stop was the insurance office. A painful memory was discovering that a sixteen-year-old with a Mustang was going to pay more for insurance in the first year than the cost of the car. I walked out of the insurance office with another monthly payment book.
With cash and an insurance card in hand, we then went to pick up the car from the owner. The final sale required a trip to a Notary, the signing of legal documents, and the paying of transfer taxes, title, registration, and such. I left there with an empty wallet, depleted bank account, two big monthly payments, and a car. I was free, but I didn’t feel free. I felt overwhelmed and more than a little anxious about the money I would need to maintain and fuel my car. The whole experience taught me a very important lesson: freedom is never free.
Review: Law first; then Liberty. Freedom is never free.
OK. That’s the backstory to my first set of wheels and freedom. It was a rough start, but I’ve got to tell you, I had a blast with that car. I drove it to my first day of college, and that Mustang took Heather and me on our first date. For four years, that car was my ticket to freedom. It got me through college, our wedding, and our first year of marriage. Freedom is awesome.
I happened to see a 1974 Ford Mustang II the other day. There aren’t many on the road because they were a piece of junk. I remember seeing a newspaper headline declaring, “Mustang II: The Most Forgettable Mustang of All Time”. I disagree. That car launched me into my first real taste of freedom, and I’ll never forget it.
Freedom is a core value of God. Why? Because God is Love. Love, in its highest forms of expression, cannot be offered without Liberty. This is why God placed Liberty in our DNA, and it is why we understand that freedom is more valuable than life itself.
Patrick Henry’s famous quote, “Give me liberty or give me death!” drives this point home. What good is life without freedom? Liberty is so powerful that even the pursuit of it makes life worth living. Henry declared that he was willing to die in the pursuit of freedom, but sadly, he was unwilling to free his sixty-seven slaves — even at his death. Those precious people were also yearning to breathe the air of freedom — and many slaves died in their pursuit of it.
Thomas Jefferson wrote, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.” He also understood that the pursuit of Liberty is more valuable than life itself — and like Patrick Henry, he also owned slaves. Maybe that’s why he included tyrants in his statement. Liberty, if not guided by Law, always leads to tyranny and bondage.
The Declaration of Independence identifies Liberty as an inalienable right given to us by God. Again, if God is anything, God is free.
We have entered the season of Lent, which leads us toward Good Friday and the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Why did Jesus allow himself to be crucified? In Galatians 5:1, Paul gives us the answer:
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free!
You were made by almighty God to be free. Are you? Give that some thought, and we’ll continue the conversation next week.
