"I’ve seen too much... I’m no good slave."

Scripture:
Galatians 5: 1 (KJV)
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Inspiration:
In a scene from the movie, Cloud Atlas, an African man is tied to a post and unmercifully whipped amidst a crowd of onlookers. One onlooker faints at the savagery of this beating. Later, this onlooker asks the African man, Autua, what he did to deserve such a beating. Autua reveals that his uncle had taken him sailing since he was a young boy and, "I’ve seen too much of the world.  I’m no good slave."

I have been a bird owner for few years. When I first purchased my birds, they came in a tiny box comparable to one that houses 99cent animal crackers. Upon arriving home, I introduced my birds to their small cage about the size of a shoebox. I would take my birds out from time to time and permit them to fly around my home as long as I was there to watch their every move. This changed one day when I was running late for work. I didn't have time to cage the birds so I left, making sure they had everything they would need in my absence and I hoped for the best. Upon returning home from work, my birds seemed to have a renewed energy and excitement. They did not get hurt or damage my home in any way. From this day forth, I created cage-free aerial hangouts for my birds. I removed the roof from their cage and they would fly in from time to time to do whatever they chose to do in there. Whenever I would have guests over to my home that were unfamiliar with birds, I would put my birds back in their cage. If you've never heard the sound of wings up close, or felt the breeze on your face from a bird zipping by, it can be a bit unsettling. The birds had come to recognize this tango. Re-caging my birds after they spent so much time flying around "freely" became increasingly difficult. The birds used to love their cage until I showed them better "deluxe apartments in the sky". Granted they would choose the cage from time to time, but once they knew what they could have and what they could do (evasive flying maneuvers), it became nearly impossible for me to put them in the cage.

Essentially, my birds had seen to much of the world/apartment. They stretched their wings too far, felt the rush of increased square footage and would no longer make a good slave/caged pet.

 

Once you fully embrace Jesus Christ, you will never be the same again. You will change. Many are apprehensive about change because it seems to trigger some kind of fear of a loss of some kind (traditional, values, friends, routine, status, etc.). However, change is a good thing. Things that are alive, grow.... they change. And yes, some things will be lost... some things will be loosed. Bondage will be loosed, there will be a period of uncomfortableness, you will no longer be the expert, and your comrades may not approve.

 

The rewards are greater. In embracing God, you are embracing your destiny. You were not created to live out your life as a  pet or as ornamentation added to the décor of someone else's home. You were not meant to live a shoebox sized existence on someone else's shelf. You were created for a specific purpose. There is a specific calling on your life.

 

The job of the devil, our enemy, is to distract you from your destiny. Even after being liberated, his whispers ignite a pseudo-nostalgia that beckons your return to the familiar cage. However, do not be entangled by such bondage (doubt, self-consciousness, fearfulness, anger, unforgiveness, impulsiveness, pride, enviousness, covetousness, spitefulness, contentiousness, etc.). Christ promised that we could have abundant life  now on earth and also reign for eternity with Him in heaven.

TASK OF THE DAY 3:
In order to experience your destiny, you must know your purpose. In order to know your purpose, you must get to know the One who created you. Go into your prayer closet today and talk to God. Start by thanking Him for anything that you are truly thankful for. Ask Him to forgive you for any sins, name them, and lay them down (ask Him to give you the strength to avoid picking them back up), and ask God to illuminate one of His characteristics. Through this illumination, ask Him what this means for the calling that He has on your life.

For instance, if God is "good", then what does this mean for your life? What does this mean for the calling and purpose that He has for your life?

Once you know who you are, what you were created to do, what you are capable of doing and being...once you know whose you are ----you no longer make a good slave.

Let's focus the next 24 hours on knowing God, knowing who we are in Him, and breaking free from whatever cage is attempting to keep us from our destiny #T.O.D.forGod

***************