On leaving the theatre, all the problems and bad news on the
economy was right back in my face, and my focus was dragged into the dark once
again. But then I got to thinking, what
will it be like to be truly and finally free from evil and all of its
influences? Free from the addiction of
sin. Free from the repetitious downward
cycles of relapse and repentance. Free
to think clearly. Free to trust that
your desires are free of what would otherwise ruin you. The freedom of Salvation fully and finally
realized.
The where is less important than the when. Could I see this condition within my own life
time here on planet earth? Long have I
believed that perfection was impossible to attain. I was partially correct. Perfection, as accomplished by humans, for
humans, is impossible. But perfection as
accomplished by God within humans is not only possible, it is the very gift of
Salvation. It is not our work to perform,
but to witness. It is not our job to do,
but our reward to benefit from. Golden
streets are great, but weighed down with the chains of addictive evil, the
golden streets would lose their shine.
Heaven’s great walls would become merely a new shiny prison if still
trapped in the bondage to sin. It is
freedom from sin God offers first, not eternal life.
We associate the color green with rich forests, blades of
grass, leaves on trees, and if you stretch your mind a little, with the smells
that accompany these items. But green is
also the color of money, mold, and bacteria that all carry a far less pleasant
odor. We don’t try to smell color, but
if we did, what we associate with Green says more about what we focus on than
perhaps we would like to admit. Our
nagging current condition always seems to bring us down, bring us back, to a
focus on self – even if it is only to loathe self. With some effort, we can break this bond, choose
to center our minds on positive things, and smell the forest green, the pines,
the deep forest air.
The best part about being free, is the joy that comes with
it. It is nearly impossible to have joy
without freedom. Our bondage to sin robs
us of the joy we would otherwise have, and replaces it with woe. But someday, maybe even soon, we will be
free. And our freedom creates such joy
within us. If we could focus more on it
now, we would feel that joy more now. It
might actually change our demeanor. It
might actually make us happier people, capable of looking at the same sad
surroundings as our peers, but able to see beyond the bondage and into a time
of REAL freedom, and real joy.
I like happy people.
For that matter I enjoy happy movies, or movies that end with a happy
ending. I like watching happiness. For some of us, this is as close to happiness
as we have ever been, to watch it happen in others. So often happiness has been associated with
temporary gratification, which turns a happy moment, into a fleeting one. You can’t maintain or extend a happy moment
that is based on mere gratification.
Once gratified, the moment is gone.
You need another happy fix. This
is the basis of most all chemical addiction.
But have you ever seen happiness that does not go away;
Happiness that lasts and lasts and does not seem to diminish. Or perhaps you have a happy memory that has
not dimmed over time. If this is true, I
would be willing to bet the memory, or the feeling you witnessed, is grounded
in love for others. When we serve, and
we love another, we find a happiness that does not fritter away. While serving others we focus less on
ourselves, more on the needs we are trying to meet. In so doing we set our focus away from self,
the source of all evil, and again we become free to have joy.
Christians were made to be happy. Christians are by design, setup for extended
bouts of joy, bouts that seem to have no end.
Our cares, concerns, and worries we are able to lay on the altar of
prayer. We can trust in our God like a
small child trusts a parent (completely and implicitly). And the gift of salvation (the saving of man
from the evil he is now slave to) literally inspires joy within us. Therefore, sad Christians, must have fallen
into the trap of looking the wrong way.
In light of your God, there is no reason to be anything but filled with
JOY.
Christians can have joy that is not fleeting, not based on
chemical additives, not self indulgent, and it can come in HUGE
quantities. Christians get many things
with their joy. They get freedom. They get salvation from evil. They get a tender loving Father God who
wishes only to be present in their lives.
Christians get intimacy with the Creator of all things. Christians even get forgiveness for things
they wish they had never even done. What
a package comes with our joy.
It is not the occasional worship song, or special music, or
weekly sermon that is the source of our joy.
The true source of our joy is the knowledge of where it comes from, and
the freedom that accompanies it. If we
had our fundamentals in order we would understand this so much better. Salvation is not being saved from the Fires
of Hell. Salvation is not being made
ready for Heaven. Salvation is not
brainwashing away your intellect and replacing it with blind obedience to an
invisible God. Salvation is not even
walking down golden streets, and living forever in a city whose light comes
from the Throne of God himself. Saved
from evil. Saved from slavery. Saved from self. Reconciled back to God. This is salvation.
Rather than trying to fix ourselves, or smell the color
green, perhaps we should learn to simply accept what He offers. Rather than accept a life focused on
darkness, why not accept the light that illuminates our freedom, and shines on
our joy. I love that our God is not
about negativity, not about dictatorship, not about solemnity. I love that our God gave us the gift of joy;
of loud unabashed joy; of grateful noisy joy; of joy you cannot possibly
contain; of joy that lasts and lasts.
Our God is truly good …
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