A miracle occurred for three women in Cleveland this week.
They were set free after a decade of horrendous captivity.
But, it hasn’t taken long to get a glimpse of how hard it can be to attain complete freedom.
Walking away from their captor is a giant step, but it’s only the first step.
In the months ahead, they will need to emerge, to heal, to reinvent themselves, to understand, to heal some more, to reestablish relationships, to find meaning, to relearn community, and to come to grips with what they have lost forever.
That’s how it is for those of us who walk with Jesus.
Walking away from our captor is a giant step, a step into eternal life, a step out of darkness into light, a step out of the grave into new life.
But there’s more work to do to fully experience the freedom into which we’ve been reborn.
Where are you wounded? Some healing is instantaneous. Some takes time. Some takes courageous, spiritual work – spelunking in the deep recesses of the soul.
Who is this new self reborn into the same sinful world? What’s God’s idea of you? What pieces of your old life must be discarded and which will be repurposed as you embrace God’s plan?
Suddenly, you need new skills because relating to others from your new position as the child of a King requires a change from your old habits.
You need to relearn community, find meaning, and come to grips with what has been lost through your sinful past decisions but also what God intends to reclaim.
We don’t come to Jesus and then just wait to start living some cool eternal life that lies in some future land
we begin our eternal life now
if we will.
But, too many of us will continue to live inside the damage that occurred during the time of our captivity.
We’ll hole up away from the world out of fear, woundedness, and pain.
In a sense, allowing our captor to continue to hold us hostage even when he’s been taken captive himself.
Is this post strumming a chord in your spirit?
Are your wrists tingling where there used to shackles but now you know you’re free – but you still sit beside the wall of chains?
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1
What has helped you to truly experience and live out the freedom we’ve received in Jesus Christ?
What holds you back? Where are you wounded and how have you been healed?
How does your life now exhibit evidence that it is eternal?
Let’s talk – we were all held hostage in the same house at one time – how can we help one another live free?
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