Called To Be Free

Human beings are created by God to live in relationships of love. God is love. God’s perfect law for his creatures is summed up by love. Love is what sets us free. It’s what makes us alive. Love is what gives us hope.

But love demands sacrifice and service. It calls for selflessness. It’s characterized by giving. It’s risky. Love is hard.

Strange, huh? Perfect life and perfect freedom is found in love. But love involves giving up freedoms and our lives.

C. S. Lewis, in his book entitled The Four Loves, describes this paradox:

Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation.

Our Christ tells us to throw away our lives and we’ll find them. make yourself last and he’ll make you first. Lose everything you have and he’ll save it.

Surrender and obedience to the Father and his perfect law. Only then will we realize our eternal calling to be free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are 58 days left until the Cowboys kick off their 2009 football season. And our Red Ribbon Review is counting down the long summer days by honoring the also-rans, the almost-weres, the second-best players in Cowboys history by jersey number. Today’s #58 is linebacker Dixon Edwards. A starter for Jimmy Johnson’s teams in the ’90s, Edwards was overlooked at times because he played next to Ken Norton and Robert Jones. But Edwards was good. He was taken in the second round of the 1991 draft out of Michigan State and wound up starting in three Super Bowl wins. He racked up 216 solo tackles during his five-year Cowboys career and then bailed for bigger money in Minnesota.

It’s going to be an incredibly busy weekend (maybe I’ll tell you more about it on Monday) so I’m going to give you tomorrow’s #57 today. It’s Bruce Huther. He was a backup linebacker on Landry’s Super Bowl teams in the ’70s. During his five years in Dallas, Huther only started one game. That was in his final season in 1983. But he wound up with playing time in three NFC Championship Games and two Super Bowls. Huther was an undrafted free agent out of New Hampshire. A perennial backup and special teams player on some pretty good teams. And the second-best to ever wear #57 for the Cowboys.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 My dad’s birthday is Sunday. To celebrate, go to Whataburger and discuss gas prices and the weather together over a “senior Coke.” Then wrap it up with some bean juice and a straw. Happy Birthday, dad. I love you.

Allan