Set free

I've been thinking about freedom some lately. And I've been thinking about my friends in Cuba some lately, too.

They don't have much freedom in Cuba. Although they find creative ways to enjoy life, and their life is simpler than ours, they are somewhat like well-behaved children. They grew up under a strong-fisted government that solves all their problems while stealing all their choices. They know better than to complain or openly disobey (although there's plenty of creative massaging of rules behind the scenes.)

Of course, no government can solve all our problems.

So, what is the cost of freedom? We need to address it squarely, for we now live in a nation where officials are eager for the government to solve all our problems.

There's always a cost to their solutions and usually that cost is freedom. Is it OK to trade freedom for state care?

A celebrity has quipped that Cuba is proof that socialism works. But the homes I visited proudly displayed USA flags because they want what we have. People die trying to swim from Cuba's shores to Miami. They crave freedom.

Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia in dismay when he realized they were trading their new freedom for old bondages. We may face that decision in our own country.

Do we trust Papa Government to care for us? Or, in trusting our Heavenly Father, hold firmly to the freedom that Christ

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Gal 5:1