Christmas, Children & Freedom

Merry Christmas!

Part 1: Exceptional Enthusiasm

Kathy Mattea’s rendition of Steve Earle’s carol is a longtime favourite in our house. Wise men chase a star and, at the end of their journey, they find Nothing But a Child. That child is, of course, the greatest of gifts, since he represents spiritual renewal:

Nothing but a child can wash those tears away…

…every mother kind and every father proud

Looks down in awe to find another chance allowed

Anxious about the kind of country their kids were growing up in, parents of young children were amongst the truckers’ strongest supporters. They wrote many letters similar to the one below:

Sometimes the letters were written in the voice of their youngsters. Such as this 20-month-old, whose footprint appears at the bottom in white paint:

Surname blurred by me

One day, when I am big, my mom and dad will tell me how truckers brought our country together to make sure little people like me have a better future.

Robyn, aged 5, may have dictated the note below to a parent - or one of them may have written it in her voice:

Thank you for fighting for us to be free! I love playing hockey and ringette and going skiing with my dad, but I can’t anymore because we need to take the vaccine, but you’re helping us be free.

Christmas is an opportunity to reflect on Christianity and freedom. Vishal Mangalwadi, the East Indian author of The Book that Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization, has written an entire book about this.

In his words, “The Bible is a philosophy of freedom.” It advances a “nonhierarchical, egalitarian ethos” that produces prosperous, compassionate societies. In compelling fashion, he argues that individual choice and freedom of conscience are central to the Christian worldview.