I receive a devotional from the Henri Nouwen Society, every morning. Today’s devotional is titled, ‘Freedom is our Goal.’ Most of us are still trying to live into our New Year resolutions or are attempting to make a change in our lives for good. I felt this devotional speaks to it, so I share it with you:
“While fear and anger are the most natural and most obvious reactions to a state of emergency, they have to be unmasked as expressions of our false selves. When we are trembling with fear or seething with anger, we have sold ourselves to the world or to a false god. Fear and anger take our freedom away and make us victims of the strong seductions of our world. Fear, as well as anger, when we look at them in solitude and quiet, reveal to us how deeply our sense of worth is dependent either on our success in the world or on the opinions of others. We suddenly realize that we have become what we do or what others think of us.”
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I feel what Henry Nouwen is inviting us to do is to live as authentically as we possibly can, every day! Every day we are called to let go of the things that control us in a way that force us to live lives that are victims of our false selves.
I think that is exactly what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. meant when he said, “I came to the conclusion that there is an existential moment in your life when you must decide to speak for yourself; nobody else can speak for you.”
I pray that each one of us will work towards living into that freedom!
Freedom to be who I am.
Freedom to say what I feel; not what someone is telling me to feel.
Freedom to think for myself instead of being controlled by other people’s thoughts.
Coming Monday, January 21st, we will be celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at church, from 6-8 pm. Come, if you can and share how his life has shaped you or just come to be inspired by what others share. There will be a chili cook-off and open mic.
People of God, let us continue to be agents of God’s love in this hurting world. Let us build one another in a way that frees them, and us, to live authentic lives. And always, love one another, support one another, and of course, pray for one another. Prayerfully, I remain your partner in justice.
