Grievance wall at Wild Goose Festival
This morning I posted this prayer on facebook
God you have called us into freedom,
May we use it to follow you with our whole hearts,
May we use it to serve one another in love,
May we use it to grow your kingdom of peace and wholeness.
It came out of my struggle with the whole concept of Independence Day and our assumption that because we live in America that we are free. To be honest I struggle with the very word Independence because God calls us to interdependence and not independence. Now don’t get me wrong – I don’t see anything wrong in a nation celebrating its independence. It is when Christians celebrate with the same fervour as though independence is a part of our faith that I struggle.
I also struggle with what we mean by freedom. Even in America there are many who have very little freedom.
Yesterday I signed up for International Justice Mission’s Recipe for Change initiative which highlights the plight of tomato pickers in Florida. I talked about this last year in a post The Price of Tomatoes – Keeping Slavery Alive in Florida. Then I read this article by Greg Valerio who together with his wife Ruth is a great advocate for fair trade – especially jewelry. Purity of Fair Trade Gold at Risk.
Then I read Chris Smith’s article Let’s Celebrate Interdependence Day
And I rounded it up with watching this video by Micha Bournes – When America Dies
watch?v=3ctXPDwLlwk&feature=player_embedded
These issues make me very aware of the fact that our freedoms are so often dependent on the enslavement or exploitation of others. It made me more than ever aware of the fact that none of us are truly free until all God’s children are free and also that the only true freedom is what we find in our relationship to God. What do you think?
2 comments
I agree, when I read my children Old testament Bible stories I think, not much has changed, and human nature hasn’t improved with time! That said, there are still many wonderful people who restore your belief that good wins. Best wishes, Nik
I think you are right and I am extremely grateful for those whose lights shine as a testimony to the goodness of God that is slowly being unleashed in our world.