We Shall Be Free

Most people who know me know I really like Garth Brooks' music. So much so that within our first year of marriage, Joe got us tickets to Brooks' first concert back from "retirement" (that which was supposed to be a 1 time concert and turned into a 9 night concert special). It was wonderful. He sang all of his old hits, and I could easily sing along. And considering he only sung 1 song from his newest album, I could sing that too because I heard it enough on the radio. I was pretty ecstatic.

I got back into a Garth kick lately, listening to his "The Hits" album, when I heard his song "We Shall Be Free". It's a good upbeat song talking about the things we need to overcome as a society in order to truly be 'free': hunger, selfishness, poverty, homelessness, prejudice, etc. All of which I agree that we as a society we need to rid ourselves of and help those around us. But I couldn't help disagree when it got to the middle. "When this world's big enough for all different views...When we all can worship from our own kind of pew". Many country singers sing songs of sitting in the pew and having the preacher preach to their heart. Up until really listening to this song, I had thought (from some of his other works) that Brooks thought the same. But the view of that "any religion is okay" is dangerous thinking. "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves" (Mt. 7:15). They lead you away and entice you. If you are in Christ, or say you are, then you should be holding to the one truth. "I am THE truth, THE way, THE life. NO ONE comes to the Father except through ME" (John 14:6, emphasis mine). I hold to the scriptures as truth because "All scripture is God breathed" (1 Tim 3:16, another version clarifies: All scripture is given by inspiration of God) and without God's holy and inerrant Word, all we like sheep would just continue to go astray without a loving but firm Shepherd to ransom back our lives and bring us into His refuge. "All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). He laid upon Christ MY (your, mine, our) sins. "The wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23) and He laid our sentence upon His Son. "... but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). How incredible is that? God ransomed us from death and in Christ gives us eternal life, eternal love, eternal bliss with Him.

I don't want Garth's kind of freedom. It sounds wonderful- no hunger, no poverty, no prejudice, etc. But it lacks the one thing that makes these things possible. That we are all working toward. Eternal hope. For if we are working toward a "free world", but we struggle and we fail at times, why would we plod on? Because we have the eternal hope that because of Christ we can be reunited with the Father, who says that He will dwell with us (again!) and He will be our God and we His people. That He will wipe away every tear, and that there will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor pain (Rev. 21). In this life, if that's not something to look forward to, I don't know what is... Only then, when I am with the Father, will I truly be free.