Free Falling

As I danced along to the great songs of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Saturday night at their concert, singing Refugee, and Free Falling, I remembered the zeal of my early adulthood driving through the streets of LA chasing down my dream.

When my kids were young I fell for the trap of wanting them to be well-behaved robots that made me look good, like June Cleaver. I mimicked the other Christians I saw, believing if I did everything right my kids would be perfect little saints, so perfect in fact we wouldn’t need a savior. Isn’t that often our mindset, forgetting that Christians are no different than the rest, far from perfect, pure or righteous apart from God?

Oh how our Western culture has tried to civilize God, but He isn’t to be tamed. Have we forgotten that the God of Israel commanded Abraham to head across the desert with all of his belongings, a way he hadn’t seen or known? Then God informed aged Abraham and his wife that they were expecting a baby and in an unbelievable wild act, God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son.

This is the unrestrained free God trying to teach us about freedom, the freedom to choose. He loves us so much that He is willing to take the risk that we might choose incorrectly. And that we might not choose Him. But He still gives the choice, because He will not take part in what is not free. Maybe because without true freedom love cannot exist, only counterfeits based in fear, duty and obligation. God doesn’t love us because He has to and He doesn’t want our nice acts of worship that are not freely given.

God never wanted cookie cutter people who are to afraid to think for themselves. He was never after a stiff lifeless religion that stifles. God wants passionate Joshua’s and Calebs who are bold enough to take mountains. And those are often made from rough and rowdy misfits the Lord transforms into champions of faith.

If God is raising a champion army, do we really imagine that in preparation He wants us to abandon passion and placidly sit home until one day there is greatness? Rather I think there might be a little muck in the stall before Thoroughbreds turn into Derby winners.

God is the one who fashions greatness in our lives. And it doesn't come by playing it safe hiding out from the big dangerous world. True faith is being released to follow a dream and trusting God with the freedom He authored.