No Strings, No Chains

Imagine with me if you will. We board a spaceship. We blast into outer space. We are given the opportunity to view Earth from a distance. All of it. Not just our little corner. All. of. it. One of the things I think I would be MOST amazed by is that Earth is just there. Hanging in the darkness. Suspended. No strings.

Thanks to the internet and satellites, we no longer need to question whether the Earth is flat or alone in the universe. We don't even need to wait to be able to afford to enter space on our own!

Just Google "earth images" and peruse for a few moments. Amazing. No visible means of support. Just there. Perfectly suspended. Rotating in just the right position between light and darkness. No strings.

We can argue HOW it got there. We can argue WHY it's there. We can argue about lots of things. Sometimes the more we know the more we question. Questioning is not a bad thing. It's how we learn.

While I was busy being amazed by the no strings thought for Earth, my thoughts turned to how some people may view Christians as being controlled by seeing God almost as a puppeteer. Pulling our strings that are ultimately connected to a God they may or may not believe in. I'm guessing that if this is how God is envisioned, it is not totally surprising that interest stops there. 

I think I would even go a step further though. Beyond strings. I would go as far as saying that before becoming a Christian (a true Christian NOT just tangled up in religion, but finding a relationship with Jesus) that it was worse than being connected by strings. I was bound. In chains. Chains of self doubt, self pity, guilt, shame, fear, etc. etc. Chains that served no purpose other than being heavy and keeping me from getting where I needed to get in truth. In faith. I was so busy focusing on the chains and on myself that I didn't look for a key or even see if there was something to do to become unbound.

I was busy focusing on my little corner of me. I didn't look at the big picture or look at it from a different perspective.

The day that I said YES to Jesus is the day I said NO to chains. I was free. I am free. Sometimes those chains still try to show up. As thoughts that try to move my focus back to me. Now though I have keys. Faith. Prayer. Fellow believers. The Bible.

There is life beyond our little corner of the world. There is life beyond chains.

Dear Father in Heaven,
May we never lose our amazement of our world just because it can be more explained through pictures and information overload. Help us to keep our vision expanded beyond us and the chains that we may feel bound by. Help us to watch for others that are bound in their own chains. Help us to not be afraid to share how we have been set free. Help us to share that it really is just as easy as acknowledging our dependence on you and not ourselves. Thank you for providing the keys to loosen our chains and set us free. Thank you for the gift of the Bible so we can continue to receive the gifts it contains.
Amen

If you've found your way here, read this far and have questions about receiving Jesus as your personal Savior, this is a good place to start:  Need Him

Psalm 107:13-15 (NIV)
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

Isaiah 52:1-3 (NIV)
Awake, awake, Zion,
clothe yourself with strength!
Put on your garments of splendor,
Jerusalem, the holy city.
The uncircumcised and defiled
will not enter you again.
Shake off your dust;
rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,
Daughter Zion, now a captive. 

For this is what the Lord says
“You were sold for nothing,
and without money you will be redeemed.”


Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV)
The Year of the Lord’s Favor
 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.

Galatians 5:1 (NIV)
Freedom in Christ
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.