The martyr cannot be dishonored… every burned book or house enlightens the world; every suppressed or expunged word reverberates through the earth from side to side.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for My sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes… A disciple is not above his Teacher, nor a servant above his Master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his Teacher, and the servant like his Master. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of His household…. So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies Me before men, I also will deny before My Father who is in heaven.
~ Jesus, King of The Universe, in Matthew 10
Oh beloved, it is true. We live among people who are captives. They are drowning in their fear and doubt and sin and blindness and hatred of things good and noble and true and free. And if those in bondage would have their way, we would join them in their chains.
There is another captive who is not really in chains, but they believe they are – and often act like they are.
Us.
However, and thankfully, the answer is the same for both problems.
The answer truly is simple. A freeman has been freed. He or she has not broken the bonds of anything to live as they want. This is nothing but rebellion. No, a freeman has been set free from any expectation. The rules are gone, and all that is left is this fresh willingness to be what we were called to be.
No Fear
All Love
Truth Speaking
Wealth Sharing
Favor Drenched
Totally Blessed.
The danger is that we still think we have to prove this to others – and to ourselves. And this is a problem indeed. For when it is the ‘me’ in me trying to prove anything, i am sure to fail and fall back towards the bondage from which i have been freed.
When people around us live like the inmates they are, or the flesh in us tries to get us like we used to be, we have nothing to prove. We just need to live like what we really are: free in Christ.
Can we see it? The whole story here is really not about us. Living free is not about a war to be fought. It is about living in a victory that has already been won. And, the pressure wave of His glory, the steadfastness of His Love, and the power of His Spirit are the elements that will keep us free.
So, do you feel the hand of persecution on you? Do you feel the old man within you screaming for you to live as you used to live? There is no need to listen, and there is no need to prove anything to anyone – including yourself. This is something that has already been gloriously accomplished on our behalf by the very King of The Universe.
Tonight is your night beloved. Time to live exactly as you already are: Free.
