Bondage part 3
Bondage. Slavery. Working to earn something that can't be earned. That's what sin is. Because sin is unbelief. And by "unbelief" I mean not believing in Jesus. Not believing the ultimate truth of the universe--that the Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hands. Not believing that Daddy loves us just the way we are, and is revealing Himself to us, and in us, and through us so that we can KNOW who we really are. That's the trap of religion. That's the trap of the Old Covenant. The the lie that the serpent hissed in Eve's ear way back in the garden. "You have to DO in order to be." That's man-centered and performance based. And it's NOT what God wants for us. God gave the people of Israel the Law because THEY wanted it. The carnal mind is emnity against God. It doesn't understand God (love) because it CAN'T understand God (love). That's why, after the Law had fulfilled it's purpose--bringing us to the end of ourselves, and to Christ--Jesus finished the work. He gave us His Spirit. And the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Truth) more than anything else... is our love receptor. He is what allows us--equips and empowers us--to receive the love of God. To know and believe the truth. See, deep down we know everything. But we don't understand what we know. We don't believe what we know. Because it seems too good to be true. "Jesus did all the work and all I have to do is rest in Him?" That's almost unbelievable. It's so much easier to believe: If I do good I'll be rewarded, and if I do evil I'll be punished. That "makes sense." To the carnal mind. And that's exactly what Jesus came to do away with. He came to ransom us out of that bondage. To free us. And not only to SET us free, but to MAKE us free. See, Jesus didn't come to improve you, He came to remove you. He came to crucify, kill, and bury the old man so that the New Man could be quickened, raised, and seated. He came to pass us out of death and into life by showing us love. By giving us the ability to BE loved, and to love one another WITH that love. It's amazing to me that people look at a relationship with God as bondage, and "being able to do bad stuff without getting in trouble" as freedom. That's completely backwards. Trust me on this one: In our "Christian" walk we don't ever have to give up anything that we're not better off without. We finally have the freedom to shake off those chains. To lay aside the sin that so easily besets us. To be who we really are instead of working all our lives trying to be someone we're not. It's not about what you do. It's about who you are and what you believe. Because what you do flows from who you are and what you believe. If "getting away with bad stuff" is your motivation, then you need to think about what you really want out of life. And here's the spoiler alert: What you really want out of life is to be loved and accepted. That's what everybody wants. And that's what we've been given. That's the gift of eternal life. That's freedom. Freedom to be loved and to love one another. That's what it's all about.