Freedom and Truth

Freedom is a thing. It has form and substance. Many labor under the misconception that freedom is devoid of boundaries, that to be free means no restrictions.

Let’s use a football game as an example.

A football field is 120 yards long and 53 1/3 yards wide. There are two 10-yard endzones on both ends of the field. There are hash marks every yard and lines that cross the entire field every 5 yards.

The goal posts are 30 feet high, 18 ½ feet apart with the cross bar at 10 feet.

Football is a timed sport consisting of four 15-minute quarters.

To be able to play the game of football we need the above restrictions.

Now imagine we are playing in the Freedom Bowl where there are no restrictions, we are totally free! We would have to remove the hash marks and the sidelines because they are restricting the field of play. We would have to remove the end zones and goal posts too. The clock would have to go because we are no longer confined by time. So now we have two teams playing each other on an infinite playing field with an infinite amount of time. The game would never end, no one would ever score or step out of bounds. And while we are at it, we wouldn’t have to limit it to 11 players on the field at one time, nor would we have to limit it to just 2 teams playing. By removing restrictions we’ve removed time and space, heaven forbid if we try to remove matter too!

Freedom requires direction and purpose, which means it needs some type of boundaries or guideposts. All things have a certain form, substance, and purpose to it. To be free means there is nothing inhibiting or prohibiting that form, substance, and purpose from being and doing. Now anything that would hinder the game of football would be working against the freedom of the game.

We live in a free society. Guideposts were put in place so as to allow folks to live freely all the while ensuring that no one intruded upon another person’s swing at life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Our political system is based on the right of every citizen to vote. We have rules and regulations in place that allows that to happen.

Christianity first had the Ten Commandments as our guidepost for righteousness which freed us from sin and then the understanding that love fulfilled all of those commandments.

Think of boundaries as the mold that forms the substance into its purpose. Think of freedom as purpose fulfilled. In this sense, purpose fulfilled is true. The act of fulfillment is truth. This can get confusing because by this standard both sin and righteousness are true when they fulfil their individual purpose and untrue when they don’t. Righteousness isn’t righteousness when it sins. Sin isn’t sin when it is righteous.

Pontius Pilate looked Jesus Christ in the face and asked, “What is truth?” He didn’t know truth, although looking at it straight in the face because he didn’t know Jesus.

All form, substance, purpose, and existence are of God. They fulfill their purpose, so they are true. Any deviation from form God’s purpose would be an untrue. For example, we are being untrue when we depart from righteousness because we were made to be righteous and holy.

Anything not of God is unrighteousness therefore untrue.

God made everything. He gave all its form, substance, and purpose. Anything within the realm of God and His creation is righteous and it is true. Conversely, if Satan had been the creator instead of God, then everything of Satan would be true and God a lie.

True and truth are being consistent with form, substance and purpose.

God made us righteous and holy. Unrighteousness (sin) is not truth although it can be true.

Hope this helps! Any feedback will be most helpful! I want to make this one of my morning messages and possibly a magazine article.

God Bless!

Bill Hitchcock