Simple Gifts

Today is the birthday of Joseph Brackett, Jr. A Shaker in Maine, who is best known for his song, "Simple Gifts." The folk spiritual has been performed and adapted since its inception in the 19 Century into modern times, and even sung at three modern Presidential inaugurations.

Here are the words, penned by Joseph Brackett:

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight
'Till by turning, turning we come round right.

In fact, the song was written as a dance song -- but, too, it serves as a reminder of the gifts God has given. How many of our modern day problems come from all those things intended to make life easier? How often do we find ourselves in some sort of financial trouble because we are unable to simplify our own lives and pare down to what we really need? How many times is the still, quiet voice of God drowned out by the noise of our daily lives?

Of course, I'm not suggesting we give up on all forms of modern convenience. I am suggesting we sometimes rob ourselves of enjoying the simple gifts of God. Freedom to love and worship Him. Freedom from the burdens imposed by modern life. Freedom from the heavier burden of our own sin.

It's appropriate that such a reminder should come in the form of a dance song -- the melody of which, by the way, has been adapted into a perhaps even more well-known song in recent years: "The Lord of the Dance." When we accept the freedom Christ has come to offer, we give up the burden of our sinful natures. And with that weight off our own shoulders, we are free to dance in worship to our Savior who has removed it.

Free Indeed!

Today is Freedom Day, commemorating the date in 1865 when Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th Amendment, ending slavery in the United States.

History tells us a slave is somebody who labors without pay. A person who, for all practical purposes, has no will but that of his master. Slavery, as it was in the early days of this country -- indeed as it is practiced in various forms around the world even today -- is a horrifying symptom of human nature.

And yet, humanity is itself enslaved to the very nature that makes slavery possible.

Jesus tells us, in John 8:34, "everyone who sins is a slave to sin."

We have surrendered our autonomy -- our wills -- to our sinful human natures. We don't have the choice to be sinless. We, in our humanity will sin, because we must. We are enslaved to our desires. Otherwise "good men" will throw away their families to indulge lust. Good children will behave selfishly. A person with a fish on his car will tell a little white lie to get out of a speeding ticket.

As Paul said in Romans 7:15, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."

We simply can't get away from sin, because it owns us. 

Except that, it doesn't have to. When Christ died on the cross, and arose three days later, it wasn't a publicity stunt; He had a purpose. That purpose was to accept the payment for our sinful natures, to purchase all of us, the human slaves of iniquity, and to emancipate us. He bought us out of our chains and set us free. 

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (Romans 6:15-18) 

Because Jesus paid the price for us, we have the ability to shrug off the chains of slavery and to take up His yoke, which is no burden at all (Matthew 11:30) Christ's burden is freedom. True freedom from both sin itself and from the wage of sin, which is death. And all we have to do is recognize that we are slaves, and accept the release from our bondage. 

Remember: "if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed! (John 8:36)"