A friend whose family had farmed the land for many generations once turned to me in the middle of a sweet-corn field and said he couldn't imagine living in a place where it wasn't possible for him to get out of bed, walk outside buck naked, and start firing off rounds without consequence.  I nodded in agreement and then reminded him that I'd be there before sunup the next day.  The laugh we shared was a nice respite under the baking sun, but his words have always stuck with me.  I swear, I've learned as much in a cornfield as in a classroom.  Maybe hard work and a connection to nature help purify the soul and elevate introspection, but farmers tend to be philosophers.

What my friend was describing, of course, is what we call freedom.  And time after time in my journeys through life, I have stopped in my tracks to realize that I'd sacrificed the freedom of the cornfields for the artificial prisons society likes to construct.  Those are surreal moments — when the mind of a farmer-philosopher kicks in and asks, "Why am I working so hard to lock myself up?"  If you don't have a good answer to that question, then it's time to take a step back and choose a new direction.  "No price is too high to pay," after all, "for the privilege of owning yourself."

Freedom, to me, is not just some romantic notion that brings a fleeting, dreamy peace.  It is everything.  It is a profound gift from God to us to use to our fullest abilities during our time on Earth.  We are free to lead moral lives or chase devilish pursuits.  We are free to nurture our innate talents and discover our true callings or to forfeit those gifts until they vanish.  We are free to liberate the oppressed or to become the oppressors.  We are free to defend our freedom or to surrender to those who wish to take it from us.  We are free to recognize our personal agency or to relish the intoxicating allure of victimhood.  We are free to decide whether this life belongs to us or to those who wish us to do their bidding.  We are free, in other words, to accept the gift God has given us or to turn it down.  That's our choice.  We are not ones and zeroes that can be filtered and manipulated according to the algorithmic designs of the World Economic Forum's central planners.  We are human beings with souls created by the only real central planner Who matters.  

A lot of what is happening today is quite disconcerting for people.  We're in one of these periods of human history when things that have long existed are falling apart, and the things that will take their place have not yet been built.  There is a general awareness that the world is not all right, and the older (and more experienced) are acutely aware that peace and freedom are under attack.  In other words, they are intently aware that God is under attack because, after all, peace and freedom are His to give.

Now by saying that out loud, do the odds against us really seem so daunting?  In a battle between New World Order communists and God, whose side do you think will prevail?  Then it's really no surprise that the neo-Marxists destroying the world today work so hard to belittle God, is it?  For when people remember His presence, then globalism always looks so small. 

In contrast, globalism looks all-powerful when the All-Powerful is ignored.  Do you see how our enemies use an illusion to make us feel weak?  Do you understand why a Great Reset intended to conquer the world must first rid the world of God?  Do you grasp why those without spiritual conviction have become disciples of false prophets promising hollow salvation?  "Trust us to control all economic relations," they say, "and we'll save you from catastrophic climate change killing the planet."  "Trust us to feed, clothe, and shelter you," they promise, "and all you have to give is your obedience."  "Trust us to keep you safe from disease," they demand, "because compliance with our mandates and mass surveillance will one day set you free."  They promise life but give death.  They promise happiness but spread misery.  They promise freedom but deliver enslavement.  These are the people who have gotten together to "fundamentally transform" the world into their own image, and when you see them for the vulgar false gods and tyrants they truly are, then their hypnotic powers melt away.  Never have so few "ruled over" so many on this planet as they do today.

Now, think about that for just a moment.  In the fight for humanity's future, on whose side would you rather belong?  Uprisings in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Poland, Germany, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Panama are already telling the tale of what is to come.  The elites have had their say, and now the people will have their answer.  

Are we heading into stormy weather ahead?  Yes.  Should that scare us?  Absolutely not.  What we have approaching outside our windows is nothing new; it just feels strange because it is a conflict most of us have not seen for some time.  The battle between freedom and control, good and evil is not only the story of humanity, but also the story of existence.  When it comes back around, as it always does, man is tested in ways in which preceding generations were not.  There is a line drawn in the sand, so to speak.  On one side are those human beings who crave so much power that they cannot imagine existing in a world where all are equal.  On the other side are those who have long avoided power but who must now rise to the occasion.  One side is composed of "rulers" and the "ruled over"; the other side is blessed with the virtues of the courageous.  One side builds systems of control; the other side seeks liberation.  One side sells panic and fear; the other offers truth and self-determination.  

It's no small thing that lies before us, but no future worth winning ever is.  Great achievements cannot be had without great struggles.  Sometimes only freedom lost reminds us why freedom must be reclaimed.  Sometimes it takes a tyrant to ignite a revolution.  Sometimes it takes the wicked to steel the believer's faith.  Every few generations, the battlespace is shaped for great change.  And every few generations, good people gather to hold the line.

So have courage, friends.  It's an interesting time to be alive.  All will be well.  Truly, we've got this.  Imagine yourself walking through the tall, lusciously green stalks of a sea of corn, hidden from everything else in the world, save for a blue sky above and the Almighty Himself.  Think of that peace, of that freedom.  Take a deep breath.  Now protect it.

Image: Jeff Turner via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.