The shape of freedom

Pastor Phil Kniss commented on how, if the story found in Luke 8:26-39 were made into a movie, this story might be a comedy, a tragedy, a drama, or a fantasy. Pastor Phil went on to wonder how this story of the healing of the demon-possessed man is the Good News. How is this the Gospel? It seems like, in this story, nobody ended up knowing who they were or how their social order fit together. Jesus is the Gospel. Jesus is the one who breaks the chains that bind us. Sometimes this breaking of chains is welcomed and sometimes it is not. Freedom can mean a loss of security and control, a loss of predictability. Our culture has missed the complexity of freedom. We have focused on getting rid of the chains, and have neglected the task of understanding who we are as free people, free in Jesus Christ. For followers of Jesus, release from bondage is only the starting point, as we learn to live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. In Galatians 3:23-29, the Apostle Paul speaks of this freedom in Christ, where we clothe ourselves with Christ. The shape of our freedom is defined by Jesus.