Living Closer to God Leads to Freedom
Prayer: Dear God, open my heart to receive what you want for me.
Brother Lawrence, a 17th century friar, wrote this statement in a book entitled Practicing the Presence of God: “Spirituality leads to freedom”. He further states: “… it sets one loose from the world”.
The idea of being set loose from the world needs some interpretation. It is not a familiar concept. Our orientation to life is primarily learning to live within the world. We are taught and trained to accommodate our lives to fit into our culture, rather than escaping from it and its grip on our lives. Generally, we hold the position of challenging the mores of our times is foolish and dangerous. Rarely would we think there is a better way to live. We are truly enculturated, which is not always to our advantage.
However, being released from the limiting bonds of our world, with its culturally restrictive claim on our lives, can be an immensely freeing experience. It is one which enables us to transcend the burdensome drag on our daily lives.
The burden of daily living is so ever present we assume it is normal. However, freedom coming with an intimate relationship with God can and should become the new normal. It occurs when we learn to live more closely with God. This phenomenon is so amazing we cannot even imagine its feeling. We cannot foresee its potential value. We can only experience when it overtakes us. It becomes a blessing beyond our comprehension and expression. Freedom from the burdens of living in this world is a holy gift. It is truly transcendent.
Imagine flying over a city and looking down, becoming aware of the pain, suffering and stress hosted in the lives of the many people below. The aggregate of their burdens is voluminous. For that moment, at least, we are above it and out of its reach. There is at least a modicum of relief in our brief moment of awareness. We have a sense of freedom from it all because we are transcending its power over us. The freedom coming from living closer to God lifts us above the din and stress of living in this world.
We likely consider life to be good, given the alternative. Brother Lawrence would tell us life can be more than good; it can be better, even the best. That possibility should immediately grab our attention. The possibility of improving the quality of our lives has tremendous appeal. We find exercise and a healthy diet enhance our physical and mental well-being. Our spiritual well-being is what gets neglected, perhaps because we tend to ignore our spiritual selves. We can get through life without nourishing our spiritual selves, and frequently do so.
The fact you are reading this material, at least, indicates your awareness of your core spiritual nature. You are a spiritual being, having been created in the image of God. As a spiritual being you also have been endowed with a body and a mind. It is critical for you to begin to see yourself in these terms, and begin to accept the responsibility of caring for your total self.
How can we fulfill that responsibility? We have some clarity about caring for our bodies and minds. We know how to do it, even though we might be neglectful in actually acting it out. As for our spirits - our basic selves, our core being - it is imperative to pay careful, unfettered attention to living closer to God, the source of our existence.
Not only does that arrangement of closeness nourish our spirits, it sets us free to transcend the negative forces impeding our living. It orients us in a direction which reduces the drag on your daily lives. It is much easier to walk with the wind rather than against it. Living close to God is walking with the wind.
