Of Slaves and Freemen

2007-03-31

Of all the mortal men that have ever been born, Paul, the apostle of the Lord, lived experiencing the resurrection life of the Lord Jesus more than any other. Yet he also suffered greater hardships because of the Gospel than anybody ever known. He was persecuted and imprisoned many times, yet he never stopped writing of his liberation in Christ. Surely, if we recognized the magnitude of Jesus’ suffering on our behalf, and the depth of horror of our sin that caused His death... Surely if we understood how we had no contribution to the forgiveness and life we received from our Lord Jesus Christ, life would never be the same for us again.

How many times have we rebelled against the Lord because we were no longer satisfied with the lives we were leading? It is always, in my case, because I have lost sight of who I am in Christ and the adventure of Faith I know I can have in Him. Yet there is a promise that Jesus will continue His work in us and transform us day by day. This transformation is happening because His promise is clear (Philippians 1:6), and it happens whether we try to quench the Spirit’s working or not. It is hard to kick against the goads.

Within the last week, I was pondering my position in Christ. He loves me, and gave Himself for me. He intercedes for me. He is working in me. But one thing that I thought about as I pondered the truth of His love is that God loves me as if I were the only one. I came to this conclusion while thinking how the Father views me in Christ. Jesus is His only begotten Son, and I am now His son, saved by the patient grace that never ends. But He loves each of us this way, as if there were no others. What could ever separate us from this love? He abandoned all things from His abode in the highest heaven, all the way down to His very own life. Even before His encounter at Gethsemane, He suffered greatly. He had no place to call home. Forgotten by His family and hometown, He lived His life for others alone, doing the will of His Father: loving, teaching, correcting, healing... I want to know Him. I want to experience Him and be changed by Him. I long for His return.

So what liberation did Paul know? He knew that nothing amounted to his account before God. All of his faithfulness in the Law, his knowledge, his birthright... he counted it as loss and fixed his eyes on Jesus Christ. Our Lord does not keep a count of any human endeavor: not sin, personal accomplishment, people we know, places we have been to, what family we came from... The only thing that matters is if we rest in the accomplishments of Jesus Christ. When we empty ourselves of every endeavor except knowing Christ, could this be true freedom? I want to know that freedom.