Freedom is Just a Perspective Away

I was driving to work this morning listening to the song "Perspectives" by Kutless. I looked at the car I was passing on my right and saw that it was a hearse with a coffin in the back. Just as I was passing it Jon Micah Sumrall was belting out the words, "Why can't you see that freedom is sometimes just simply another perspective away."

For me it was a rather serendipitous moment. As I started my drive to work I was thinking about some of the behaviors I was trying to change in my life and praying to God for help to set me free. I was also thinking about the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday that left so many people dead (33 as I write). My problems seemed to pale in comparison. The announcers on Air1 were also talking about the tragic event at VT and wondering how we would respond to it. Would we react in fear and mistrust and further wall ourselves off or would we realize that there are many other people like Cho Seung-Hui that desperately need someone to reach out to them. I found myself thinking what a frightening undertaking that would be.

When I got to work I discussed the lyrics and the hearse with my colleagues. We talked about freedom being a perspective away and came up with the following thoughts:

Sometimes we are free but chose to make ourselves prisioners.
Sometimes we are prisoners but chose to make ourselves free.

In the first case, perhaps we allow an experience from our distant past to dictate our attitudes and behaviors. In the second case, maybe we truly are a prisoner in some way. Consider a person who is held prisoner by a wheelchair. In spite of their prison, some chose to change their perspective and see themsevles as free. Instead of focusing on all that is wrong in their lives they look beyond their limitations and live life more fully and freely than those who are not so confined.

So let's get back to the coffin even if it does seem a bit morbid. The coffin is a dark and enigmatic symbol of death. It is an icon that reminds us of our mortality. And yet, there is a profound and wonderful message there. The coffin screams, "This life is only temporary!" If we can change our perspective and realize that this is not all there is and let that be a reality that is in the forefront of our thoughts, wouldn't that set us free? Free to live for eternity rather than this mere blink in time?

In John 10:10 Jesus reminds us, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Jesus understood that life would be filled with loss but he wanted those He loved to adopt for themselves an eternal perspective. Earlier in the Gospel of John (8:31b-32) Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Here's my point: Freedom truly is another perspective away. When tragedy crashes into our lives we need to remember the eternal perspective and live from that vantage point.

I certainly don't have this mastered and I invite each of you to keep me accountable to living it. If you see me living from temporal perspective I hope that you will gently remind me that freedom is just a perspective away.