FREEDOM!

Inspired by We Make the Road by Walking by Brian D. McLaren
Chapter Nine

Scripture references – Exodus 1:1-14; 3: 1-15, John 8: 1-11, Galatians 5:1, 13-15

“If you’re looking for a thirty-minute story with a happy ending every time, it’s hard to find in the Bible-just as it is in real life.” As the story of Moses goes the people were freed from Egypt and then wandered in the wilderness. The story shows over and over that “God is on the side of slaves, not slave owners!” Learning to live as a free people brought numerous problems for the people.

We, as did Moses, have hard choices. Do we give up or do we move forward when we hear God’s call? As G.K. Chesterton said, “Christianity was not tried and found lacking. It was found difficult and left untried.” It follows when you see Jesus as a descendant of those slaves. He celebrated the Passover meal which demonstrated that “they were not part of the slave-owning economy, but were among those seeking freedom from it.” Jesus was a liberator. When we take communion or participate in the Lord’s Supper we “join God in the ongoing struggle to be free and to set others free.”

We are living in a world of nonviolent liberation. “It’s a road into the wild, a road we make by walking.”

Engage:
1. Who are today’s slaves? Who is being exploited and crying out for help?
2. Think of a time when you were vulnerable and others took your side.
3. Activate: This week seek for people who are being oppressed or mistreated. Be open to ways God may call you to intervene.