the balance between freedom and order
Freedom And Order
Freedom without order leads to chaos. Order without freedom leads to tyranny. Only in Christ can these two warring combatants become creative comrades in the dance of grace.
Freedom is a wonderful and terrible paradox. In its purest sense, freedom means having no boundaries, borders, rules or restrictions. It is the uninhibited will to do or refrain as one desires.
Freedom defines, in part, deity. After all, who tells God what to do? Made in his image and likeness, we also were designed for freedom, but our broken and dis-ordered hearts bring only chaos. Whether we're talking about reckless drivers who feel no need to obey the speed limits or the killing fields of Cambodia, human beings strive constantly to break through any barriers that prevent them from doing as they see fit. The pursuit of freedom without order invariably brings chaos and ultimately results in death.
The opposite is also true. Order without freedom leads to another kind of death-tyranny. We are not designed for slavery, and each of us is born with the God-given and God-like capacity to will and to choose. Anything that robs us of that capacity denies us what may be the defining characteristic of our humanity. When humanity experienced the Fall, however, the brokenness of sin infected our conscience. Humans now abuse order in the same way they abuse freedom.
Order becomes a weapon of control, a device to simply impose my will upon yours.
A war now rages in every human heart. Reckless freedom claws at the eyes of violent order in a deadly pas de deus. Only in Christ can these two warring factions become creative comrades in the dance of grace. How?
Christ promises life-real life-and that more abundantly than the chaos and tyranny that characterizes human experience. The life he promises is born from the union of both the freedom and order he brings.
Consider biological life for a moment. Science still wrestles with the definition of "life" itself, but at
Freedom without order leads to chaos. Order without freedom leads to tyranny. Only in Christ can these two warring combatants become creative comrades in the dance of grace.
Freedom is a wonderful and terrible paradox. In its purest sense, freedom means having no boundaries, borders, rules or restrictions. It is the uninhibited will to do or refrain as one desires.
Freedom defines, in part, deity. After all, who tells God what to do? Made in his image and likeness, we also were designed for freedom, but our broken and dis-ordered hearts bring only chaos. Whether we're talking about reckless drivers who feel no need to obey the speed limits or the killing fields of Cambodia, human beings strive constantly to break through any barriers that prevent them from doing as they see fit. The pursuit of freedom without order invariably brings chaos and ultimately results in death.
The opposite is also true. Order without freedom leads to another kind of death-tyranny. We are not designed for slavery, and each of us is born with the God-given and God-like capacity to will and to choose. Anything that robs us of that capacity denies us what may be the defining characteristic of our humanity. When humanity experienced the Fall, however, the brokenness of sin infected our conscience. Humans now abuse order in the same way they abuse freedom.
Order becomes a weapon of control, a device to simply impose my will upon yours.
A war now rages in every human heart. Reckless freedom claws at the eyes of violent order in a deadly pas de deus. Only in Christ can these two warring factions become creative comrades in the dance of grace. How?
Christ promises life-real life-and that more abundantly than the chaos and tyranny that characterizes human experience. The life he promises is born from the union of both the freedom and order he brings.
Consider biological life for a moment. Science still wrestles with the definition of "life" itself, but at