Freedom

Joyce, in her devotional in our office meeting today, read us the words to a Charles Wesley hymn, Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus:

Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set they people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.

She read more than that, but as I listened, I was struck by a similarity to a contempory song I had just listened to as I baked on Saturday morning, Free by Ginny Owens:

So when I am consumed by what the world will say,
It's then You're singing to me,
As you remove my chains

You're free to dance-Forget about your two left feet
And you're free to sing-Even jofful noise is music to me
And you're free to love,
Cause I've given you My love, and it's made you free
I have set you free

Free from worry, free from envy and denial
Free to live, free to give, free to smile

They aren't the same, of course, but as I listened to the one written in 1744, I was reminded of the one written at the just a few years ago. Our desires have not changed. The freedom we are offered through Christ remains the same.

I think that's one of the reasons I like so many different kinds of music. I'm always struck by the idea that we -- both the ones of us born ten centuries after Christ and the ones born 20 centuries after Christ -- have the same desires, the same longings, and the same God.

The words of one song and the words of the other speak to that idea.