Here I am! Send me.: August 2016

“God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance” (Romans 2:4)

God never forces us to repent. It’s an invitation. More times than not, I am completely oblivious of my need to repent of something until He shows me clearly. He gently pulls my crap into the light and says, “So what do you wanna do about this?” Once He reveals it for what it is, I get to repent. It’s a pretty sweet deal. Simply speaking, repentance is walking away from the bad stuff and getting filled with more of His goodness.

About a year ago, I heard Jesus invite me to repent – to lay down “my rights.” I saw Christians going about life, seemingly in control of their situation. But then Jesus revealed the strings. These strings, attached at their back and arms, led up to a puppeteer who was just out of sight. Generally the strings remained loose, allowing the person to walk unhindered. But at certain times the puppeteer would tug on the strings, making them move in an unnatural way. Then I looked in the mirror and saw the same strings attached to me.

These metaphorical strings represent “our rights.” In America, we love our rights because they free us to be who we are and express our beliefs. The freedom of press is an example. That is an awesome thing! I am all about claiming your rights, unless those rights claim you, and turn you into someone you are not.

With my buddies in Burundi

Before saying more on the matter, it is important that we get something straight. If you are a follower of Jesus, then you have already begun to experience the joy of eternal life. The Apostle John helps us out by giving us a definition of eternal life. John 17:3 reads, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” The invitation into life eternal is nothing short of a relationship with the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, who holds the earth in the palm of His hands and props His feet upon the moon. Often we quote John 3:16 and make the dangerous assumption that eternal life is some place we float off to after we kick the bucket, but in fact it is some person. He is Jehovah, Yahweh, my sure foundation. He is my Lord, my savior, my dearest friend (John 15:15). As followers of Jesus, our goal is not to live average, comfortable lives until our King returns in power to take us with Him. Don’t get me wrong, I am stoked to the utmost for that day when we leave this rock behind and see Him face to face. In the words of Paul: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). I guess what I am trying to say is that God has invited His children to go higher, to get free-er, and to receive more of the glory while our feet are still planted firmly on planet earth. But we have to die. To die to this world and live in the newness of life offered through the cross (Romans 6:4).

As a child of God, I am granted the rights of His kingdom, namely love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). But this world is also in the business of offering up rights to it’s citizens. And when we accept the rights of this world, we forego the rights of God’s kingdom, and consequently a string is attached.

For the longest time I chose to take hold of one of those rights this world offers: the right to be offended. The string was attached deep in my back. It didn’t take much. I remember a time in high school when I was at the movies with friends. One of my buddies was poking fun and took it a bit far. I stormed out of the movie theater in a rage and drove home. He immediately tried to say sorry, but I was more interested in being offended and causing him to feel horrible. The puppeteer (Satan) recognized an opportunity to put on a show, so he pulled on the string at just the right time, causing me to act in a very unnatural way. Eventually my friend and I were reconciled. But how silly is that? Who gave me the right to be offended? It wasn’t Jesus. He gave me the right to be a child of God (John 1:12). “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). If we are in Christ, then no one can touch us. We are only offended if we have something to lose. If I understand my identity as a child of God and recognize that no one can take that from me, then getting offended is no longer an option. While I know that string has been severed from my back, I still battle with the temptation to buy into the lie that I have the right to be offended. But I am so thankful to the Father for showing me how to get free.

The “right” to stress and anxiety are strings plaguing so many in our society. I see many of my peers at university taking hold of “their right to stress” during a busy week of exams. I also witness the right to fear, the right to a full stomach, the right to comfort… and the list goes on. God is inviting His kids to take some scissors to these strings and to take hold of our rights as citizens of heaven, leaving the puppeteer powerless as he tugs on severed strings. There is a boatload of freedom available to folks who will let the Holy Spirit expose these strings and get them gone.