Love and the First Amendment

Last week, after picking up my students from lunch, one of students came to me with a very concerned look on his face.

“Mr. Lin, Alan* said he doesn’t believe in God. Actually, he said he hates God.”

I paused for a moment. As a Christian teaching in a public school, I am not ashamed of my faith, but I need to tread carefully about the things I say and do. This student knows my faith, so after careful consideration I softly said,

“The United States is founded on freedom. We are all free to believe what we want, so Alan is free to believe and think what he wants, even if you and I don’t agree with him. Is that OK with you?”

A thoughtful look came over the student’s face.

“That’s OK with me, Mr. Lin.

As we turned to walk back into the classroom, I said,

“You know, maybe one day Alan will change his mind about God. What do you think about that?”

The student smiled and said,

“I think that would be cool.”

Over the past week I have pondered this conversation in great length. For many of us Americans, the freedoms that are granted by the first amendment are thought of much like oxygen – we recognize the importance of them, but do we really cherish each breath of freedom that we take?

The freedom of religion is guaranteed by the first amendment, but as I thought deeper about this freedom, I realized that it has deeper roots than the Constitution. For those of us that are Christians, the freedom we have to choose to love God is one of the ways God shows shows His love for us – a freedom that is granted despite the knowledge that many will not embrace Him and the subsequent heartache it causes our Creator.

Some say “love just happens,” or “you can’t help who you love.” After all, it is a feeling, and many say that we don’t choose how we feel. So… do I believe in love? And, is it a feeling?

I definitely do, and it definitely is. However, it is a feeling that we have to choose. We choose each day to love our spouses, our parents, our students. We make this choice in good times or bad, and especially in the times they have disappointed us or made us angry. We have the right, the responsibility, and the freedom to choose who we love in every situation. In return, we have the honor to receive love that was not coerced, but chosen.

Love that is given freely is a better kind of love than obligatory love. Just the way God – and the First Amendment – intended.

*names in the story are changed