Experience freedom in a brand new way.

What does freedom look like? It’s probably different for everyone, but there are a few constants. One of them being that we all want it, and another that we probably wouldn't know what to do with it if we had it. And a third is that the freedom that we think we want probably wouldn't be as good for us as we think it might.  It would be devastating.

          

              We cry out so many different things, but far too often we forget to turn in the direction that we need to turn to find the answers to our prayers, our desires, our search for meaning.  In his latest book, The Answer to our Cry: Freedom to Live Fully, Love Boldly, and Fear Nothing (Baker Books, 2014) Rick McKinley teaches us about freedom from a perspective that makes sense scripturally.

       

          Spoiler alert: the total freedom we think we want means death. But freedom the way that God meant us to experience it, means finding a relationship with the loving God that really has our best interest at heart.  Freedom the way God wants us to understand it means love and justice.

     

           McKinley uses a fascinating mix of scriptural references, theology, and personal experiences that can only come because he has found the freedom to share his knowledge and to be transparent about his own struggles – struggles that most people have, even if they may try to hide them from the world.

         

          His descriptions of freedom invite us to take the next step to bring about the world that God envisions for his people, to step into the prayer “thy kingdom come, thy will be done” and realize that as we pray those words we’re committing to do our part to make it happen.  And the examples of what that looks like are found throughout the book. One of my favorites is this one: “Jesus confronts injustice not by calling out attention to the greatest offenders of shalom but by calling us to love our neighbors as ourselves. We like the idea that we’re made in the image of God, but do we like the idea that our neighbors are too? (116) Simply stated, but oh so powerful in its simplicity.

So dare to be free, cry out for freedom, and let McKinley guide you as you learn about a brand new way to experience freedom. Live fully. Love Boldly. Fear Nothing.

   

            5/5   

         

     Disclosure: I received this book free from Baker Books through the Baker Books Bloggers www.bakerbooks.com/bakerbooksbloggers program. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html.