Freedom

Janis Joplin sang that "freedom is just another word for 'nothing left to lose'"*.  I've always liked that definition, because it recognizes the fact that we are owned by our stuff and our attachments.

In my Bible study this morning we were reading Psalms 118.  In verse 5 it literally says "the Lord answered me in a wide open place."  The NIV translates that to say "He answered me by setting me free."  That really struck me as a great translation.

We all live in cages.  This body is a cage.  We are trapped by the frailties of this world and our own limitations.  We struggle and cry for freedom.  Cages are limiting.  But they also provide safety.

Maybe the best we can ask for is a larger cage.

If my cage is big enough then I can live out my days without ever seeing the bars.  There are limits, but I never experience those limits.

That would be good enough for me.


* "Me and Bobby McGee", written by Kris Kristofferson