PSA for the Jesus Follower : You Can’t Loose Your Freedom

Aug 2

Before we enter into issues of injustice, we must look inside ourselves. (15).png

The year was 2006, I was a brand new mom and Chris and I were living in New Orleans doing flood relief work when we received the news that his Grandpa had died. We quickly made arrangements to fly back to Canada to attend the funeral. Before we went, we had filed paperwork for Chris to get his work permit in the states, what we didn’t know was that in between him sending in his paperwork and us attending the funeral, the United States had sent back his paperwork because the fees had changed and we hadn’t sent the appropriate amounts.

The scene is set, we are at the Canadian/American border with Chris’ parents and our baby, Aimee when Chris’ passport is flagged. My Canadian husband had had trouble before we were married at the border and so we were always a little nervous (to this day crossing the border with my American passport holding children and Canadian passport holding husband, I still pray pretty fervently). Chris was taken inside an office to be interrogated by customs officials and I was young, naive, bold and livid.

You see, I am American. As an American, I like my rights and quite frankly those men holding my husband in a small room and even entertaining the thought of not allowing him to go back across the border with me was infringing upon them. I remember holding Aimee and walking around the building loudly pointing to all the pictures of the Presidents and telling Aimee about how those were our presidents and we had rights, because we are American. If I had anything to say about it, they were no way keeping my husband on the “wrong” side of the border. I am sure my Canadian in-laws were mortified. I wonder how long it took them to realize what a feisty wife their son had chosen.

The other day I was scrolling Facebook and I came across one of those rants that at the end says something like “copy and paste this if you agree like I did” or whatever. I knew before I got to the end the person who posted it wasn’t the original author because it was more abrasive than I know this particular person to be in real life. The post essentially expressed anger over churches not being allowed to be open at full capacity during COVID when Walmarts and bars can be. It ended with some passionate words about how we are losing our freedom to pray and worship.

I can relate to the post, I really can. When I was at the customs office all those years ago, for the first time in my young life I felt like there was a chance I wouldn’t be able to live my life how I wanted. Like many Americans, I prided myself on being American and the freedom being American represented. The idea my freedom could be infringed upon didn’t sit well with me. In fact, I had every right to protest and fight against it and boy did I.

The Facebook post I read was a reaction to an infringement of rights, and in America we aren’t supposed to have our rights infringed upon. It is ingrained in us - we have freedom, it has been bought and paid for with the blood of soldiers. We want to scream, “You can’t tell me what to do”, and have a little fit like I did at the border all those years ago and Facebook is a perfect platform.

Here is the trick, if we are going to be Jesus Followers who are marked by justice, justice that is truly for all, we first have to let go of our American rights and traditions. For many reasons, the first being, American freedom for all is a bit of an illusion (is another blog post for another day). Maybe the more important reason we have to let go of our rights as an American who follows Jesus is because we have to remember when we choose to follow Jesus our citizenship is no longer found here on earth, but instead in heaven. Our hope, security and identity no longer bound up in the rulers and authorities here on earth and what they do, but by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We don’t need to worry over what happens in this earthly kingdom because we know it will pass away. In fact we are commanded in Matthew 6 not to worry about tomorrow, for today has enough trouble and God’s got us. Instead we are to live our lives based on this truth; we are storing up for ourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and thieves do not break in and steal. Someone described it to me once (possible Kay Arthur) as our bums are seated up in heaven and our feet are walking around here on earth. This world is not our home.

With all of this truth, I have to ask the question, why do we line Christianity up with our American way? Why do we equate fighting for our freedom as Americans as the same as defending our faith? The more I look to Jesus and how he reacted to an oppressive government towards his people (the Jews) the more I wonder if my pride in being American and my determination to puff my chest out and belt a country song about being free is contrary to living a life defined by Jesus and justice.

Asserting my rights in the border office all those years ago may or may not have helped the border guards give Chris and I grace that day as they allowed him to cross the border with me. I have claimed it was my pride for years, but I am older now and realize those guards could have put me in my place real fast. It is more likely it was less about me and more about God’s grace over our lives.

And here is the kicker. No matter if you agree with where I am going with this post or not (and you are allowed to disagree and wrestle!) We need to not forget who is in control of the whole world and we have to remember America is not the center of this world. America isn’t the only place God is working, he doesn’t favor America above all other countries. I wonder how much Jesus really approved of our “Christian Nation” which gave religious freedom to a select few while building a new world on the backs of slaves and simultaneously devaluing and dehumanizing those who were here first.

The Jesus I read about in the Bible, and I know personally, laid down his rights even though he was God. Philippians 2 says it like this;

“Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! “

Right at the beginning of this passage it says “In your relationship with one another have the same mindset as Jesus who..” In other words, you and me Jesus Follower, we are to lay down our rights in order for people to come to know Jesus. So Jesus can be lifted up.

This doesn’t mean we don’t speak up when people are defaming Jesus, no this is exactly when we should speak up, to shine our light in a dark world. But I would challenge you to consider, as a big C Church, are we currently standing up for Jesus, the gospel and saving grace or are we standing up for our rights and traditions? Are we spewing harsh, ugly words on Facebook in defense of our right to worship and if we are, are we following Jesus as he led the way in Philippians 2 or are we fighting for a worldly Kingdom that exalts ourselves and our comfort instead of humbling ourselves so God can be lifted up?

There is one hope for the world today just as there was when Moses held up the snake in the desert for a people who had forgotten about their God. It is Jesus. He is the only hope. I have to ask myself, is God bigger than a building? Is he bigger than a government? Is he bigger than a law that does or doesn’t allow verbal spoken prayer in schools? Have our rights to a relationship with God been taken away - can they ever, really?

I know we can be persecuted for our belief in Jesus. I know today many are faced with a decision, renounce Jesus or die. And I truly pray we do not get there as a country. Yet, God’s kingdom is one where we are called to lay down our rights, not raise them high. His upside down way is asking us to trust him and be faithful to what he has called us to do which is to go into all the world and share him with others. I don’t see it written anywhere that we are to fight for a building our our rights to pray and sing within it. In fact, again, it was just the opposite. Jesus said the temple or church is no longer a building, but the people of God. Instead of the Spirit of God living in the Ark of the Covenant He now lives in those who believe in him and where two or more are gathered he is there.

Friends, with tears in my eyes, I ask you, please don’t miss the truth that Jesus doesn’t live in a building, he lives in his people. And those people can meet at a park to pray and sing, they can meet in a home to worship and learn, they can go for a walk or sit in a car or be at a bar - it truly doesn’t matter, if you have given your life to Jesus Christ and his grace covers you, you are an Ambassador for truth, light and love of Jesus and the very Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives inside you.

For those of you who are scared of losing our American rights, the religious freedoms enjoyed by the few who look like the ones who first landed on these shores hundreds of years ago, I hope to encourage you. No one can take your freedom. You have been set free from sin, guilt, fear, shame, man’s opinions, man’s control - nothing can take your peace, joy, the presence of the living God from your very life. No one can take your prayer life, the inner dialogue you have with your Savior and Creator and friend, no one can take away the song in your heart. This freedom we have so graciously been given wasn’t purchased for us on the battle field by men - but on a cross where the Son of God’s blood ran red for you and for me.

I can’t know the future, I don’t know if America will be around as I have known it for years, decades or centuries more. And lest you judge my heart because I bring forward a different view point, I am grateful to have been born in a country where I have had so much privilege and opportunity. I do not take it lightly or for granted. But as a Jesus Follower and citizen of an eternal Kingdom I have to focus on the one who is eternal, he was here before the Declaration of Independence was signed and he will be here when it is only a distant memory in history books. He is unchanging when the world is turbulent and he is what we must put our trust in.

Our rights are shaky. They can be taken away. I learned this in the border office holding my new baby in my arms with my husband in the other room. Do what you must to stand for what you believe to be right, I won’t fault you for this. And yet, do not lose focus on the big picture, the eternal perspective . And this last bit I say to myself, if it helps you draw close and listen in.

Steph, do not allow your need to be right and pride in your rights to ever get in the way of your true identity, not as an American, but as a citizen of the Kingdom of God. The calling to do justice by righting wrongs, to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God, do not loose sight of this.

My prayer for myself, and for you, is out of this walking with God the sweet aroma will waft to a watching world so they too can know his everlasting, saving grace, sweet peace, unconditional love and true freedom only found in an intimate, surrendered friendship with him. No one can take the freedom found in Jesus from you friend, rest easy, trust your Creator and follow him by faith - he who called you is faithful and He will do it.