I’ll never stop sharing the kite analogy:
When is a kite the most “free”?
Growing up, we would go to the beach a lot.
If it was windy enough (and let’s be real, it’s always windy at the beach in Northern California), we would throw kites into the air, hold on to the spools, and slowly turn the handles until we could barely see the kites flying way up high!
I remember thinking that I was holding this kite back.
The string was restrictive!
I wanted to let go of that spool so the kite could fly as high as it possibly could.
That string was just tying the kite down.
But what happened when I let go of the spool?
The kite nose dived, crashing into the sand.
I wanted to “free” the kite by letting go of all restrictions.
And yet when the kite had nothing to hold onto, it fell to the ground and stumbled along in the wind.
It turns out, the tension of the string was exactly what was holding the kite up.
Sometimes, I hear people talking about how much more “free” they are without the commandments to follow.
And listen— sure, there is more literal freedom when you don’t “have to” follow this set of rules and commandments.
But I have learned that it is the “tension” and “restriction” from these commandments that Christ uses to truly let us be FREE.
There is not-so-obvious-to-others and undeniable-to-ourselves FREEDOM when we partner with Jesus Christ and willingly make covenants that bind us closer to Him.
Eternal, emotional, spiritual, peaceful, joyful freedom.
Christ knows our full potential, and He knows the “tensions” that we need in our life in order to actually keep us afloat, as much as we think we might be more “free” without them.
Bondage is NOT being tied by a string to a masterful kite-flyer.
Bondage is NOT having anything to pull us up, leaving us to be dragged every which way by the wind.
We are free BECAUSE we are bound to Christ.
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1)
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
2 Responses
There is a Church movie from 1992 called “On the Way Home” that uses this same analogy. We used it on my mission, it has stayed with me over the years and I have referenced it in Youth and FHE lessons many times. Thanks for the amazing work you are doing!
I should check it out! Thanks for sharing!