As Christians, we are like prisoners who have been set free from our chains. Jesus took our shackles and burdens and tore them into pieces when He rose from the grave. But sometimes, we don't act like free men and women of Christ. I've myself found myself acting more like a slave than a free man in this life after Christ. Why? What does that look like?
Imagine if all that was said happened; Jesus took your chains in substitution, through His death, and broke them into pieces, through His ressurection. Sometimes as Christians, we go back to the place where He shattered all of our pain and start picking up the broken pieces of our shackles. Can you imagine seeing that? A prisoner who has been set free yet runs back into his cell to take with him the burden of heavy iron?
What does this really look like in our lives? The truth is we all do this. Even after Jesus paid for our sins completely, we picked up our struggles and our pains and brought them with us. Why? Because glorification comes later in the Christian life. God sent His Son to die for us and then gave us the Holy Spirit to walk this journey. The Spirit helps us take our focus off of our chains and on to the Kingdom of Heaven. When we focus on our shackles, they get heavier. When we look towards the Kingdom, the city becomes brighter. The Spirit is sent by the Father to refine us so when it's time to reach the gates of Heaven, the only weight we carry are the refined peices of gold and silver fit for a crown.
John 8:36 says that if the Son has set you free then you are free indeed. What does that mean?
Everytime I hear that phrase, I think of it as useless repetition (Even though nothing in the inspired Word of God is useless). But think about that. When the Bible says free indeed, it urges us to live out that freedom; to live as free men and women. This means living without holding the weight of sins but instead living in light that God has lifted that burden, put it on His Son, and it is paid for and dealt with.
So that is the urge; to live in light of the freedom. I am the best boxer in the world when it comes to self-affliction. I am always the first and last person to tell myself that I am a failure, but that's not what the Bible says. Sure, man is depraved, but even more so is man redeemed. So let's live in light of our redemption and not depravity. To live with the idea of depravity (which I completely believe in) is to live in an old and done-away-with state of mind. When you mess up, you are forgiven. Done. Paid for. When you try to fix it (which can sometimes, but not always, be in the form of praying more or reading more or writing a blog even) you are telling Jesus "Hey, is their room on that cross for me? I know You're God, but I really feel like I need to do at least something!"
No, that's inconceivable.
If this is new news to you, please, contact me by e-mail and we can talk further about the Gospel and the work of Christ done for you.
Philippians 1:27a "Live your life in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ" - Forsake All
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