Americans have never gotten over their successful rebellion against Great Britain. We pride ourselves on our self-reliant independence. Even our folk-heroes, Davey Crockett, Daniel Boone, etc. are the go-it-alone tough guys who can make it on their own without the help or support of others. Cooperative, mutual participation is somehow not quite American. It seems more characteristic of Asia somehow than our rugged individualist traditions.
Even in our personal relationships, we seem to value inter-dependence among equals much more than the frankly dependent parent-child or mentor-student model. We deeply believe that dependence is bad, weak, vulnerable and much to be avoided. Such attitudes may be appropriate in some settings, but we are stuck in independence. We fiercely resist surrendering our independence even in relating to our Creator – yes, to God.
We really don’t want to think about humbly kneeling before our Creator, accepting unquestioningly the guidance of a Superior Intelligence. We would much rather have a peer or “buddy” God. Someone who would be more understandable, comprehendable, of our own dimensions. Someone we could more comfortably “argue with” if He diverged too much from our own point of view.
So we resist accepting the loving guidance and support of our One True Source and Author. Somehow we would rather “do it ourself” than accept the direction of One who knows far better than we, what our real needs and possibilities are.
What balky, obstreperous children we are! We attempt to content ourselves with all sorts of limitations, problems, deficiencies, because we just don’t want to “lose control”! (As if we had it to lose!)
One of the sweetest messages I ever heard is found in Brent Haskell’s book, Journey Beyond Words. In this book, Jeshua says that the real essence of love is freedom. That God does indeed love us, and He thereby grants us total freedom to do and be as we wish. Whatever we choose is ours. The one and only limitation is that we have already been created, and we cannot change our nature. What we are, how we are made, our inner nature is fixed in our creation and try as we might, cannot be changed. And do we ever try! We pretend to be thieves, assassins, perfidious, cruel, and rotten to the core. We carry this to such extremes that we can convince most of our brothers that we really are the evil things we pretend to be! Sometimes only God can say that “this is my beloved child in whom I am well pleased”.
Could God really grant us this much freedom? Yes! He can. He does. I don’t know how he continues to love us sometimes, but He insists He does. He gathers up the broken and shattered bits of his children, the spoiled remains of an angry and vicious world and loves them back into eternity. Only God could manage it.
So he gives us total freedom. We are given the freedom to reject Him. To create a world for ourselves that is the complete opposite in almost every way to His gentle and loving nature. We have the freedom to persist in our madness, without intervention, until we weary of it and find our way back on our own.
And when we manage to return from our folly, do we have a hell of a bill to pay? What do you think? That is what the parable of the Prodigal Son is all about. We are welcomed home with great love and celebration. Our debts are cancelled, our foolishness forgiven and nothing remains but the joy of homecoming.
This return to our loving Father is the event I want to celebrate. This final recognition that yes, indeed I am dependent on my Creator. With His help it is my nature to own the Universe…even more to become the co-creator of all that is. Wow. What a better outcome than to merely celebrate being alone and independent. How about accepting my place as co-equal with the loving boss of Creation! I think I won’t insist on Independence any longer. Enough is enough.
Kellie Love July 2008