Liberated
Growing up in the church, I have always been familiar with language of ‘being saved.’ During
a year living in South America, I was introduced to Liberation Theology, which led me to
consider the idea of liberation as well as salvation. The distinction between these terms is
subtle.
Being saved often has the connotations of avoiding a potential problem or disaster.
Someone else intervenes, preventing you from taking a negative course of action. In a
religious setting, you are warned off the road to Hell and Jesus saves you from it. Saved can
mean avoiding an adverse situation or disaster in some form, perhaps inferring that at
present you are not yet fully aware of the predicament that requires you to be rescued.
Liberation has a different sense to it. The word that automatically springs to mind is
‘freedom’ which implies being captive to something in the first place. I’m not sure that in
western society we like the idea that we are bound by anything. When I first considered it, I
initially questioned what I had been liberated from and whether in fact I had. Being born
male, white, relatively affluent and well-educated has given me automatic freedoms that
others have not enjoyed. A bit of digging beneath the surface would suggest that I am more
captive to ideas or patterns that I’d like to admit.
Very simplistically, being saved is sometimes understood as a ticket to Heaven when you
die. Being liberated has more of a focus on the present, being free from the things that bind
us. In fact, Jesus spoke to a people who were occupied by the Romans, who were
repressed and had significant limitations on their freedoms. Many Jews at the time were
looking for a saviour but Jesus refused to be a warrior or a fighter against the occupying
regime. The liberation he was offering did not involve overthrowing the ruling powers of the
day.
I wonder what we might need liberating from today. It might include consumerism or
materialism. It could include feeling the need to project our image in a particular way. For
some people, addictions can bind and restrict them.
In John 8:32, Jesus says that his those who believe in will know the truth and the truth will
set them free. Maybe some of the messages, the good news, that we could be reminding
ourselves of are things like:
You can be free from negative thoughts.
There is hope in the face of addiction.
You don’t need to let your work consume your life.
Money does not need to be your main priority.
You can be free from worrying about what other people think about you.
I like the idea of liberation. It seems to point to the present and the future, providing
motivation to move forwards, to become more the people we were created to be. Perhaps
we can take the time to consider what we can be free from and lean into that freedom that is
offered.
