Chain Breaker
January 13, 2024
Faith
January 13, 2024
Faith
Colossians 1:13-14
Darkness cannot exist in His light. Before finding Jesus, I was in a dark pit of incongruence where my soul was maligned with how I presented myself to others. Have you ever presented yourself as one way, but on the inside felt another way? Compromising yourself for personal gain? A little white lie to sound or look better in a situation? A bold lie to protect yourself from humility? Choosing what you want over what your family wants? This list can go on forever and each is an example of comprise, where you are only delaying an explosion. As humans, unless we are totally devoid of Christ, incongruence cannot stand.
Behavior that is incongruent with Christ is self-compromise. However, behavior that is through Christ is where our Salvation lies. Behavior that is full of vulnerability and truth, as they say, will set you free. For me that is exactly what Jesus gave me, freedom from sin, freedom from the chains and freedom from internal darkness. A darkness I might add, that fully consumed me and the more it consumed me the more I tried to conceal it. We all have a different way of concealing our darkness. The easiest way is to remain silent in our minds, locked away from the outside world. Not letting anyone in.
We feel safe, locked away, where no one can hurt us in the darkness. With each new compromise we find ourselves with a new chain wrapped around our necks. Alone in our solitude we try chewing through these chains only to find that when we ‘gnash our teeth’ we only hear the rattling of a cage, no chains are broken. We list through life, in and out of seasons wondering why things are the way they are. We may say things like, “It is what it is” or “easy come, easy go” or some other saying that writes off the reality; we are without peace. How many truths can a person write off?
Being vulnerable however, getting on bended knee and asking Christ to forgive us. To wake each morning and telling Jesus that you are his servant, that his is THE way. Living in humility and vulnerability, none of these are easy. However, this is what it means to live through Christ, to believe and have faith. Through Jesus we will find our redemption, He is after all, the final authority on heaven and earth. How do we do that every day when we are an imperfect being? It’s not easy, it requires unwavering faith, a commitment that is renewed each morning. When we wake, before we get out of bed as we are lying there contemplating throwing back the covers we have a choice. Do we spend our day walking through the door of surrender, renunciation and obedience, or do we walk through the doorway of selfish desire?
serving God’s will. His desire for us as His servant is to spread the good news, in turn, bringing more people to His Glory. Can you imagine for a moment if every single person on Earth lived and loved like Jesus? The death of self and the birth of servitude. It sounds a bit backwards, but serving self is where chains are formed, not in the service of God. The book of Jeremiah from the Old Testament in chapter 5 verse 23 says,
23But These People Have Stubborn And Rebellious Hearts; They Have Turned Aside And Gone Away.
Earlier in Jeremiah chapter 5 verses 3 through 5 states,
3 Lord, Do Not Your Eyes Look For Truth? You Struck Them, But They Felt No Pain; You Crushed Them, But They Refused Correction. They Made Their Faces Harder Than Stone And Refused To Repent. 4I Thought, “These Are Only The Poor; They Are Foolish, For They Do Not Know The Way Of The Lord, The Requirements Of Their God. 5So I Will Go To The Leaders And Speak To Them; Surely They Know The Way Of The Lord, The Requirements Of Their God.” But With One Accord They Too Had Broken Off The Yoke And Torn Off The Bonds.
Even in the Old Testament the language is clear, obedience is servitude. Here Jeremiah talking about the people of Israel who had turned away from God. Despite God’s wrath, the people of Israel took matters into their own hands. They knew better than God and while it’s impossible to follow the laws as they are written, even the purveyors of the laws had ‘broken off the yoke and torn the bonds’. I believe this is where the crux of the Cross exists. As children we are under the laws of our father and mother, not the forgiveness of Christ. We are raised with rules, regulations and consequences; as we should be. However, as we transition to adulthood it’s important to lay the sins of our childhood down at the foot of Jesus. This is where we fail; we hold on to childhood emotions and desires that go unfulfilled. We have tried over and over to classify this through mental psychology and have multiple billion-dollar industries to combat what amounts to selfishness. An unwillingness to let go of what we want, at the expense of the Holy Spirit living inside us or those around us. The sad truth is most of our efforts only drive us deeper into ourselves. It’s a vicious cycle, think inner-child.
Surrendering to Jesus and extinguishing the darkness with His light requires dying to self to become born again. John 3-3, “3Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” That is very clear language found repeatedly in the New Testament. Your old way, the way of your youth must die away, just as Jesus died on the cross. The good news, however, is He left us with the Holy Spirit; our key to His Kingdom. We aren’t alone with His Spirit, unless we choose to be. Alongside His Spirit, the door of surrender, renunciation and obedience becomes an easy door to walk through each day. Once you know the truth, it will set you free.
There is an incredible transformation waiting for you through Jesus. A very important person once told me that I would never know Jesus until I asked Him to reveal Himself to me. At the time, quite literally earlier that day I had questioned the existence of Jesus, questioned that He was THE WAY. Getting caught up in knowledge blinds us from knowing Jesus. He already exists inside each of us, we are created in image of God after all. For Jesus to reveal himself, all we must do is ask in prayer, seek Him throughout our day and knock on His door. Mathew 7:7 says, “7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.8For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.””
