NO LONGER A SLAVE

Time for a #scripturesesh.

We are all searching for the same thing: identity. We 'find' ourselves in habits, occupations, emotions, and even when we feel lost, we have identified ourselves with that hopelessness. If we look anywhere but Jesus, we'll never find who we are, because we were made from His heart, in His image, with the purpose of loving Him, and through that being transformed into His likeness. We are designed to identify with freedom as sons and daughters of God and return our minds to the concept of sonship and daugtership unpausing. 

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death (v 1)." I am not a slave to sadness, responsibility, anxiety, depression, or hopelessness.  I will not be punished for my sins because I have stepped into grace, leaving the ashes of sin and death decaying beneath my feet. I live in a hallway inscribed with love and awakened by the resonance of belonging and privilege. 

"And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (v 3-4)." Jesus was sent to save us, and let us into a lifestyle where heaven outruns earth in every situation. We don't live by the flesh - fear, weakness, selfishness, inadequacy, feelings of abandonment - we live at liberty, in a position of  expecting the best from He who is the source of all good things. 

"Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God (v 5-8)." Death is the worst thing that can happen in most situations - it's the reason we avoid jumping out of planes, diving from the heights, and why we're rigorous around following a plethora of safety procedures. And yet this avoidance of destruction is in vain, if we're not yielded to the Spirit. We'll never please God if we're governed by the world around us. Out of our slavery to earthly things, we're dancing in the desert, the dust rising from our lively inhabitance of happiness and peace.

"You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you (v 9-11)." Good news! The bondage removed, in the places we go, we are blessed with the nearness of God and the pleasure of existing outside of slavery. Living with such joy leads to wildness and frequent speculation, a madness that is best enjoyed in the presence of others.

"For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory (v 14-17)." A truth, when embraced and purposed into every situation, changes your world and lights up your darkness so you never have to leave the light. 

Madison x

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