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He Breaks Gates and Bars


Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron. (Psalm 107:15-16)

          When these verses were penned, bronze and iron were the metals considered the best for defense. Now, someone might talk about tungsten or even adamantium.[1] There is no place that is "safe" from God. He can and will defeat our enemies and His. This is one of those "good news/bad news" situations, depending on whether you are his friend or his enemy and on whether you actually want to be freed.
         The truth of the matter is that we don't really want to be freed. Of course, there are things that bother us, and we want to be freed from their negative influences. There are things that we like that we don't really want to be freed from even though we know they're not good for us. There's also the problem that freedom tends to involve responsibility. Studies have shown that people who have spent time in prison sometimes find being released traumatic. They need assistance in making the transition back into a society in structure and control are no longer imposed on them. Animals that have been captive all their lives  can't just be turned loose to fend for themselves. Freedom isn't easy. 
          I've just finished writing a one hundred word essay about the commercialization of the holidays. There's something to be said about freedom and the holidays. God broke those bronze gates and iron bars for me the first year I worked in retail over the holiday season. In the past 15 years, I have rarely decorated and now that I'm in a motor home that is less than half the size of my house and have no real income, there are no decorations. Where would we put them? I have never been great at cards and presents, so I've pretty much always opted out of the shopping frenzy. 
          Last year and this, the holiday season has meant buying enough turkey or ham to feed two people for no more than two meals each, buying a Christmas present for Dad (already done), performing in a Christmas-themed entertainment and a Christmas eve service, setting up holiday concerts for this blog and listening to the few Christmas CDs I have. Simplifying always allows me to focus on the things that are really important. I thank God for breaking the gates of bronze and the bars of iron of "the holidays" for me after years working retail. Perhaps in a few years, I'll even feel free enough to expand my celebration again, but for now, freedom is found in the enforced restriction of simplicity.


[1] If you don't know about adamantium, ask someone who enjoys superheroes about Wolverine's claws.

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