Intro
In this entire adventure to greater manliness through your vocation, you will always have the option of saying “No. I do not want this!” or “No! I don’t want to be demanded more from… I’m ok where I am.” or “No thanks, I’m good.” or “No, not yet… I don’t want to complicate my life just yet.”
Short Exercise 46
Quickly review Parts 15, 22 & 40.
Commentary
You see, freedom is a curious thing. It is first of all perhaps God’s most prized gift to angels and men aside from their existence and His own grace to them. Consider: even God has sworn an oath never to go against our freedom. He will not force us into heaven! He will not make us happy “upende, usipende!” If you do not want to be in a relationship with God temporarily in this life, He respects that. This is what sin is. If you do not want to be in a relationship with God eternally in the afterlife, He respects that. This is what hell is. God himself bows down to our freedom – to your freedom. And the reason for this is clear: without freedom, you cannot love. And that’s precisely what God wants! That’s the kind of relationship He wants. He doesn’t want followers like on Twirra, He wants lovers like in a family. You cannot love without freedom. You can obey, but you can’t love. A robot can do what it is commanded/programmed to do, but it cannot love. God doesn’t want to fill His home with robots. He wants to fill heaven with family members: sons and daughters. You and I. And He wants it so bad that He’s willing to risk you don’t want it… forever.
Secondly, it’s not only that without freedom we cannot love. It is that freedom is made precisely to be used up in loving. Freedom is not a trophy that should remain shiny and untouched. The idea is not to make it to death with my freedom perfectly preserved. On the contrary! It should be completely used up in loving, in giving myself (to God, others, our work/studies, hobbies, etc.) The world today teaches the opposite view: freedom should be preserved untouched. All commitments should have some Prisonbreak strategy, an exit plan, a Plan B. In fact, just never commit! Never give yourself completely! And we know what happens to gifts and talents that remain unused, that are hoarded: they rot and leave their owner stinking. (To be cont’d…)
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