Dear Friends,

I want to reference last week’s blog and draw a parallel to Christianity. I think it is fair to say that Christians and would-be Christians alike often struggle with giving their entire life over to God. In the book Spiritual Freedom, Fr. Dave Pivonka reflects on one aspect of this when he mentions how we sometimes struggle with completely letting go of certain sins. Perhaps, he suggests, we cling to our sin because it is the only thing we possess that is truly ours—the only thing we have that God has not given us.

I know that there have been times in my life when I was pretty sure the Lord was nudging me to either stop doing something detrimental or to start doing something He wanted me to do. Sometimes, I resisted because I didn’t think I was equipped. Other times, I resisted because I didn’t want to sacrifice—whether it was a vice I was particularly attached to or simply time and energy I would have to dedicate to doing His will instead of my own.  Though I am a firm believer that His plan for my life will bring me more joy than my own plan ever could, I still frequently struggle with actually applying that belief.

I’ve heard people talk about the Christian faith as if it is a sacrifice on our part… as if we, as humans, trade in the freedom to do what we want with our lives for shackles, for a life of restraints and limits. Following Christ, people say, means a loss of freedom. This couldn’t be more inaccurate. The truth, as Fr. Dave so eloquently stated, is that we have nothing to give God that He didn’t give us first. The only thing we could possibly give is our sin, which is the very thing that actually restricts us. Can you think of any other place or circumstance where it would be possible to give someone something completely worthless and get back something which has immeasurable value? But this is exactly what kind of exchange takes place when we go to God with repentant hearts. We give him our sins, our shame, our shortcomings, and He gives us joy, acceptance, and love.

Such a decision seems like it would be a no-brainer, and yet it is one that people go back and forth on all the time. Perhaps it is our desire to be able to do everything on our own.  Maybe our culture has convinced us that alcohol, drugs, and sexual escapades are necessary rights of passage. Whatever the case, we must bring this paradoxical truth to the forefront of our minds whenever we are struggling with our commitment to Christ.  As Pope Benedict XVI said, Christ gives us everything, and He takes nothing away.  Only upon realizing this was I able to understand that freedom really is worth dying for—Christ proved that when He gave up His life on the cross. I used to think that choosing to drink, choosing to hurt myself, and generally choosing to live my life however I pleased, was just a facet of freedom. I was making my own choices, no doubt, but these choices were leading me further and further away from freedom. True freedom is found in living God’s plan for my life. It is found in Christ. Everything else is just bondage.

“If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life.” –Pope Benedict XVI

“Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.” – Pope John Paul II

Love in Christ,
Emily