Worldy people imagine that the saints must find it difficult to live with so many restrictions, but the bondage is with the world, not with the saints. There is no such thing as freedom in the world, and the higher we go in the social life the more bondage there is.
~Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love…. If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
~ from Galatians 5 and Colossians 3
Oh beloved it is true. There is before us a choice, and we make it many times every day. We (read every one of us who have cast ourselves on the Grace of Christ to save us) are free, and we are heading Home to a place where there will be no more enemy.
But the going Home. Therein is a battle of epic proportions and the defeated foes of our King want to drag us back into their own field of operations. They want to ensnare us with the world and its highly-refined system of distraction from that which matters.
But there is an answer.
Come away beloved and simply live a lifestyle, as who you already are in Him. The freedom we have is not just some philosophical construct that enables us to frame our thinking a certain way. No, we now have His mind. We now live and move and have our being in Him. Said simply, our lives are already eternal and we are just at the beginning of that which will have no end.
And in understanding that knowing Him changes everything, the sense of being in a hurry drops away. Our focus goes from this minute, to an infinite moment. To know that time is really not a factor anymore removes the ability for anxiety to grab ahold of us. Again to simplify, the timelessness of a relationship with Him acts as a sort of “spiritual teflon,” keeping us from getting hung up on things that don’t matter.
Spiritual authority becomes real for the life of one who begins to live in the infinite space the Spirit provides. We realize that things really are all working together for our good. And in knowing this, freedom becomes clearly understood for what it is: It is the freedom FROM
fear
doubt
worry
despair
anxiety
hurry
self-interest
lust
distrust
rage
flesh
pride
sloth
And instead, it is freedom to Live TOWARDS
Love
Strength
Hope
Laughter
Song
Dance
Goodness
Patience
Righteousness
Joy
Kindness
Peace
Gentleness
Honor
So, our lifestyle is no longer bound to the world. We no longer play by the rules that say some particular sort of the right clothes and gadgets and positions are what define who we are. We are now, instead, His, and this same Jesus has taken an eternally-firm hold on the keys to Death and Hades.
Can we see it? We are no longer in a hurry to put together some tiny little pile of bits and pieces to comfort us against the certain death we face. That moment is behind us already. We have already died in Him and entered into His Life which will never end. And in seeing this truth for what it is, our life and all the styles of being we might follow ascend above the dull clutter of this plane.
So beloved, are you feeling the drag of the world? Let it go. The world has no hold on you. You are already beyond it. Live a lifestyle like who you are. Allow Him to bring you into the ascended lifestyle of the redeemed.
