Freedom and Will
This time of year invites us to reflect on two key principles of human life: Freedom and Will.
There is an interesting teaching of Jesus (John 10:17 and 18) where these two principles are brought together: “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
Why is that? Because the common sense of thinking of Freedom as a natural and divine right tends to overshadow and blend with the other principle, Will.
The human being is ironic. It always presents a strong Will to defend an extreme position of having total Freedom. That goes for fanatics as well as atheists; they are sides of the same coin. One believes that humans can have absolute freedom, while the other believes it doesn’t, at the same time defending their freedom not to believe in God. In a sense, they are prisoners of their extremist views.
The human being does not have absolute freedom as long as they remain separate from God. It can only be achieved in the stature of Christ, as being One with God. But even then, it has a requirement: to be dependent on God.
Freedom through Jesus Christ
In this sense, only Jesus Christ has absolute freedom, and this authority He received from God Himself (John 10:17 and 18).
There is a key point to understanding this reality, which involves the principle that connects Freedom and Will. First, Will is a principle that compels us to action. This urge needs to be accepted for it to be freely expressed. Hence, the natural connection between it and Freedom. Now, the link is Morality.
For the urge to be expressed, it must be accepted according to the agent’s morality. Here is the catch: the authority the Divine Master receives from God through His Love is only possible because Jesus surrenders Himself to the Will of God.
Through Christ’s dependence on God, He gains the ability to make conscious choices.
That is True Free Will: when a person develops a spiritual moral capacity to be aware of their Will and accept its consequences. Nowadays, while there is a natural defense for Free Will (the right to choose), there is also an urgency for Conscious Will (the capacity to choose).
Choice and Responsibility
There is a common saying attributed to Montesquieu (even though there is no evidence he wrote it) that encapsulates the reality of Freedom and Will: “My freedom ends where yours begins.”
The current era challenges the philosophical and moral achievements society has conquered and raises fundamental questions about how to move forward.
I believe that Christ provides the answer to all of this. Because He is the first to challenge our current assumptions and to help us understand that the Love of God promotes Spiritual Morality, which human morality needs to be in harmony with. Brother Paiva says that: “Freedom without Responsibility and Fraternity is condemnation to chaos.”
My hope is to strengthen what has been achieved and expand it through the advanced and spiritual perspective Jesus Christ promotes, so that the world can balance its technological progress with spiritual growth.
Reality or Dream?
It is an ambition to materialize the dreamed principles of Freedom and Will, regulated by Spiritual Morality.
As with any human endeavor, nothing will be perfect, but it does not mean that there isn’t space to strive for.
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Jesus (Matthew 5:48)
