Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Tuesday Teaching: You're Free To Go

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free..." - Galatians 5:1

I have never met a single person who says "I love the feeling of being trapped".

We don't enjoy being hemmed in, tied up, held captive - whether it's to a job we don't like, an addiction we can't beat, or a situation we can't extricate ourselves from.

We long to be free.


Here's the deal.

Jesus is all about freedom. "I came to set the captives free", he said. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free", Paul said - using a double affirmative to make his point.

This freedom may be external - God getting us out of our situation, bondage, addiction.

Or it may be internal - God giving us peace in the middle of a situation we will have to endure for a while.

But, we're not meant to be, or to feel like, captives.

At a church yesterday, I had the chance to walk with the high-capacity, high-commitment staff as they discerned the One Word they believe describes them and the church they love (part of the Intentional Difference process).

The word was "Liberators".

Or "Libertadores", in Spanish.

There is simply no better word that a church could have.

It's Jesus' heartbeat. For you.

Whatever that thing is that holds you back, ties you down, occupies your energy and effort...it's been defeated already.

On the cross, Jesus took on his shoulders all captivity and enslavement. He paid for it with his life, bled for it with everything he had.

You don't have to be a captive anymore, to anything.

No comments:

Post a Comment