God's Plan of Freedom Is Bigger Than You Think

What are the bars that surround you? Not the Mozee Inn down on the corner; I mean the things you feel are holding you back, infringing on your freedom. For instance, when I retired, I wanted to write a book. I envisioned sitting in my pjs with a piping hot bowl of joe, rain falling on the tin roof of our cabin and deer taking cover in the trees waaay at the end of our property. It turned out, there were a few things keeping me from that dream. A) We don't live in a cabin with a tin roof, B) the only thing at the end of our property is another property and, C) my mother. Mom was living with us at the time, and her condition was deteriorating, making it harder to care for her. Honestly, I was really angry about that. Day after day, the same thing. Mom watching me constantly, nervous if I left the room for more than a minute. The tapping, the whooshing, the wandering; inside, outside, always restless. It was maddening, and I felt trapped. Sometimes, as I worked, she'd whistle to get my attention, stare at me quizzically, and I'd wait for what seemed like hours for her to formulate the words to a question that never came. I prayed for Mom to be healed --most times, for my own convenience. I prayed for the upset to stop. I prayed for stability. I prayed for peace. I prayed for sanity. I prayed to be free. But the things I thought were holding me back were nothing compared to the things that really kept me in prison.

The bars that surrounded me were anger and resentment, steel fixed in my mind and cemented in place by the lies I told myself --that this was not what I had planned and, therefore, not what should be; that this was unfair to me; that I was alone and infringed upon, my life had been stolen from me --and worse than all that --that I deserved better. The bars that held me were of my own doing and were far worse than those I thought kept me bound. I failed to realize just how debilitating my unsanctified and unchecked thoughts were. At a time --a difficult time --when I needed the power of the Holy Spirit to carry me, the self-pitying and embittered thoughts I entertained robbed me of the freedom of surrender. Christina Dronen, in her book, Parenting in Christ says, “We surrender not as defeated heroes, but as refugees, escaping a life of slavery, starvation, and abuse. We surrender not for fear or threat, but in hope that the One to whom we surrender has a better life for us.” Surrender to God's plan frees us from the tyranny of this world and its ruler, and entrusts us to the care of a loving, faithful King of all kings who loves us and desires to transform us into the perfect likeness of His Son.

So often we seethe and moan about financial burdens or physical ailments; but the anger that leads to compulsive spending or the unforgiveness are the real bonds from which God wants to liberate us. We strive for the things moths devour and corrosion disfigures, thinking they will somehow allow us to rise above the poverty in which we find our spirits; but it's the meekness and purity of heart found only in Jesus that will set us free. We look around at the "nothingness" that is our lives, the turmoil that is our relationships, and we want to escape; but our greatest victory is found in the treasure of God's Word we've allowed to remain unopened, unread, and unlived at the back of our nightstand drawer. We stress over our homes, our families, our physical well-being, somehow imagining the worst that can happen will happen on this side of our obituary, but we forget the eternal nature of each and every moment. We are looking to escape prisons that are far too small, fragile, ridiculously benign to a God like Yahweh; and we pay too little attention to the condition of our spirits, bound by chains of death and darkness. Imagine that! To be imprisoned behind iron bars, shackled to great stones, but terrified and pleading to be free of the web a spider has spun at our feet through the night. It makes no sense.

But this is what humanity does. We look for more of the world when Jesus holds out all of eternity to us. We want a vacation. We want a bigger house. We want a newer car. Our spirits languish in prisons of self-centeredness. We beg for God to heal us, release us from earthly circumstances; we line the pockets of doctors and lawyers, while our hearts lie bound by unforgiveness and unrepentance. We protect our investments, our families, our reputations, our lives, while our eternity goes unaddressed and unprepared for. We are in shackles behind iron bars fretting over gossamer threads woven around our fingers. It would be silliness if it wasn't such great sadness. God wants to free us from the big things, the real problems, the true bonds, the spiritual hang-ups.

I'm not against the desire to do better, to be better, to have better in order that we might serve and worship better. I'm not saying we should live with sickness and never seek the Lord's blessed healing. I'm not implying we should be reckless and spendthrift with all God has graciously given us, that we should never save for the future. But we should rightly understand the weight of our condition. We should rightly desire to see God's will revealed and bearing fruit. We should rightly examine our own motives. We should see the gloriousness with which Jesus came and died and was resurrected, and for what purpose. We should seek the precious and pleasurable things of this life for the purposes of bringing glory to God's name. We should do well fundamentally for the kingdom of the One who freed us to live in it. That is freedom. And that is freedom from the things that truly impede and imprison us.

Midweek: Sad and Beautiful Beginning

The first book I'd read by Frederick Buechner was Peculiar Treasures. It was so unique, so quirky, and at the same time, so insightful, I was sold. I developed a love-hate relationship with the author right then and there. Today's excerpt is from Peculiar Treasures, and it is Buechner's brief commentary on Eve. 

EVE:

Like Adam, she spent the rest of her days convincing herself that it had all worked out for the best. Their new life didn't turn out to be as bad as had been predicted, and somehow their marriage weathered the change. If they had moments of terrible bitterness over what had happened, they had other moments when it became more of a bridge than an abyss between them and when the question of which one of them was to blame got lost in the question of how both of them were to survive. One son died an ugly, senseless death, and another went through life as disfigured by remorse as by a cleft palate (see CAIN). But all in all things didn't go too badly. When the last child left home, it wasn't the easiest thing in the world to be alone again with a man who after his third martini might still lash out at her as a snake in the grass and a bad apple, but at least they still had their independence and their principles, which as nearly as she could remember were what they had given up everything for. They stood, however grimly at times, on their own two feet.

It was only once in a while at night, just as she was going off to sleep with all her usual defenses down, that her mind drifted back to the days when, because there was nothing especially important to do, everything was especially important; when too good not to be true hadn't yet turned into too good to be true; when being alone was never the same as being lonely. Then sad and beautiful dreams overtook her which she would wake up from homesick for a home she could no longer even name, to make something not quite love with a man whose face she could not quite see in the darkness at her side.

~ Frederick Buechner

Food for Thought

I'm currently reading Frank Morison's Who Moved the Stone, an oldie but a goodie. In short, it is an apologetic on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. At least, that's what the back cover of my edition states. But it's provided me with so much more: food for thought and a clearer picture of the events leading up to the murder of Jesus. Today's food for thought came as I was reading about the guard posted to secure the tomb at the priests' request. Morison writes:

It is usually contended that the excuse given to Pilate (viz., that the disciples might steal the body) is wildly improbable; ...the behavior of the disciples shows that they had not apprehended or believed Him;

Did you notice his statement regarding the disciples? The disciples, by their behavior, demonstrated their lack of belief. After the crucifixion, they went into hiding; they grieved the loss of their Leader. On the road to Emmaus, recorded in Luke 24, the two men associate themselves with the women who discovered the tomb of Jesus empty that morning: they refer to them as "certain women of our company." These were followers of Jesus, and what was their response to His death? We were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. The morning after the Sabbath, why had the women gone to the tomb? To finish the burial process sunset stole from them on Friday. They were shocked His body was gone and demanded to be told where it had been taken. With Jesus' final breath, all hope left this group.

But the religious authorities, the priests and scribes, that "brood of vipers," what did they believe? By their actions, they demonstrated belief in the power of all Jesus of Nazareth had said! This prophet from a backwater town who vexed them and challenged them all throughout His ministry, they believed His words would --at the least --incite some sort of funny business! Now that's some food for thought right there! If the enemies of Jesus are more convinced of His authority or His charisma than His followers...

Why would anyone who doesn't believe in the power of prayer be upset if you prayed over your lunch at the local McDonald's? Listen to those who are crying out for Jesus to be erased from history or the Ten Commandments to be removed from public places. Are they more passionate about their cause than we are about our Savior? Do those who deny Jesus spend more time advocating for the poor, hosting strangers, fighting for justice, looking out for their neighbors, and caring for creation than we do? Are their more non-believers at the gym, fostering children, donating to the women's shelter, raising money for cancer, sending out Get Well wishes, coaching t-ball, or attending Overeaters Anonymous than there are believers? When my boss cuts my hours, is it my Muslim coworker who talks me out of panic mode? Is my Buddhist neighbor kinder and gentler toward her children than I am? Was it my Mormon friend who pointed out the beggar in the doorway, or did I have my coat off long before she mentioned it? What we believe --what we truly believe in our hearts determines our behavior. 

The Jewish leaders were more convinced of Jesus' impact than His own disciples. They took precautions to secure the tomb! To them, Jesus had given His followers something. A fire had been ignited, a fire they feared they were unable to extinguish. Were they right? Almost every one of the twelve were eventually martyred for their faith, and the truth of the gospel has spread far and wide. Hard to imagine anyone willing to give up their life for something they didn't believe whole-heartedly. 

So, I'm sharing some of my food with you today. Has the hope of victory, the hope of eternity died with you, or does the passion of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection burn so brightly in you, others can't help but be convinced?

Are You for Real?

Years ago, Scott and I were given the responsibility to care for two beautiful little children. We loved them with our whole hearts. We protected them fiercely. To us, they were ours. Until they weren't. Circumstances changed, and those two beautiful little children were removed from our home. We were devastated. But, even in that emptiness and the ache of loss, I determined to keep my eyes on my Deliverer, my Redeemer; I refused to say "it" was over. As a matter of fact, I told a coworker one day, "God slammed that door so hard and so loud, I know He is going to do something fabulous." The coworker, who had mocked my belief in an "imaginary" God time and time before, looked me directly in the eye, curled his lip and hissed, "He's not. He's not." Oh, how wrong he was! Praise God, those two beautiful little children, their sibling, and their parents are a beloved part of our lives today. Restoration. Mercy. Redemption. That, my friends, is reality!

I say all of this because, so often, we place our eggs in the wrong basket. We look at the calendar, we fixate on our circumstances, we live and die by the balance in our checking account, we invest our time and worry in things that are part and parcel of our physical world without even considering the spiritual realm. We take our first breaths in the physical world; our bones grow, and our muscles become stronger. We go to school to develop our minds in preparation for what is known as "adulthood." We experience seasons and failures, our first kiss, the flu, sunburn, the spray of a waterfall, the death of a parent, the birth of a child, corn on the cob. All the beauty and heartache of the natural world; but it is only a picture of the spiritual part of us. It is real (for now), but it is not all. Our bodies and our minds are not the end of us. Our spirit is that which is eternal --eternally living or eternally dying. 

Look waaay back to the Garden of Eden, and you will find an event that changed the course of human history, The Fall of Man. Romans 5:12 says that through Adam, sin infected us all; by this, as well as our own sin, we are responsible to pay the penalty demanded by moral law --death. There is no option, the moment we are conceived, we are obligated to pay. However, and this is the Good News, Jesus (God) came as a physical being, died in our place, was resurrected and now sits in Heaven, the Mediator for all who would believe. What does all of this have to do with spirituality? Read it again, starting with "Look waaay back..." The physical existence of the garden, of humanity, of the cross and the empty tomb cannot be separated from the spiritual consequences of sin, from the Eternal God who ransomed us or the eternal life (or death) that is a part of our personal stories. We may not pay it any mind, we may not think about hell or the spirit realm, but like it or no, we are spiritual beings --even more so than physical beings! We are physical beings for a short time in light of eternity; we are spiritual beings forever. How we live in this physical world for this brief cycle of life is not the end of us, and when we live as if it is, we miss the point entirely. To fail to hope because "too much time has passed," or to fall into depression because of our circumstances, to hold back our tithe because of the little numbers at the bottom of the page, to spend time ranting and raving, worrying and fretting, plotting and planning when we should be praying and fasting, to live our lives as though the physical world is paramount (or even, tantamount) to the spiritual realm is foolishness and an affront to God who is Spirit and is most certainly not imaginary. 

I pray, of course, that eternal life is a part of your story. I pray that it's a part of the way you live today, in light of eternity, in obedience to the Holy Spirit, and not by the demands of the physical world. I pray that your spiritual eyes might be opened to all God can do in your situation, and I pray that God will become more real to you each and every day as you trust and submit to Him.