In our struggle for freedom, truth is the only weapon we possess.
~ Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
~ Jesus, King of the Universe, in John 3
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
~ paul, The Least of The Apostles, in Ephesians 3
There is beloved, an astounding truth in the gospel. We are now part of the very family of G_d. No, we are not just some club of believers who are journeying together in an adventure towards a new homeland. We are – each of us – a beloved son or daughter of the G_d, Father, and King of the universe. This is now simply and profoundly true.
What makes this most difficult to comprehend is the truth that we were, at first, but slaves to the most horrible of masters. Ourselves. We were locked into a prison of no escape. Our own nature, and selfish desires had wrapped us up into a bondage of incomprehensible aloneness and fear and pain and want and lust and anger and hatred and rage.
But G_d.
This same One who spoke light into being, breathed our name to the keeper of the keys of death and hell. He said: “It is finished.” And with a payment which far outperformed any concept we might have of value, He bought us out of our darkness. Then, in the Great Love with which He Loved us:
He forgave the shame of our actions as slaves to our horrible former master.
He betrothed us to be His bride.
He clothed us with luxurious coverings of righteousness.
He empowered us to live as we always wanted to live – Free.
He gave us an unstoppable weapon – Love.
And the cost to us for all of this? Nothing. For we had nothing of value to give anyway. The only thing possible for us to do, was to turn our focus away from ourselves, and to put our gaze fully onto Him. This change of mind was brought about by some new and astounding conviction that Jesus really was (and is) the only answer to the entire panoply of our problems.
And in being set free from our sin, and from ourselves, we finally begin to see what all of this is all about. There is only one reasonable response to the extravagant Love-gift G_d has given us. We are to present ourselves back to the One who has freed us, and freely ask that we might have the honor of being His slave.
For now, we know that the Master we would serve is by no means horrible or harsh. Rather, He is the most trustworthy friend we have ever known. The Truth by which He has freed us, is someOne we never want to leave. We would, but dwell as close to Him as possible forever. For, in our freedom, we come to realize there is no other place we would ever want to go.
And so we do.
We say to Him, “Would you have me as Your slave please?”
And He answers, “Oh beloved, of course. But only on my terms.”
“Yes L_RD.”
“You shall not be a slave. You shall become attached to my House. You shall take on my Name. You shall eat at my table. You shall share my riches. You shall be my friend. You shall have my ear. You shall approach me boldly any time you need to talk or need help. You shall work with me to spread My Love across all creation. You shall reign with me – forever.” And then He says, “These terms are not negotiable. Do you accept?”
And somewhere, someplace the last bit of us gives way in trusting obedience to the terms of our new bondage. And in doing this, we find only more of Him. Only more freedom. Only more Love. And only more trust in this very best of Masters.
Tonight is the night beloved. Take a knee. Allow Him to enslave you in His Truth and Love.
Slavery, Truth and Trust
And since then, O Kings and Ladies, I have been wandering to find him and my happiness is so great that it even weakens me like a wound. And this is the marvel of marvels, that he called me, Beloved, me who am but as a dog.
~Emeth, “The Last Battle” by C.S. Lewis
