The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)
Does this not speak of freedom to you? Not freedom to do as you wish but freedom in our obedience to Jesus. Nothing to cage us in or hold us back. You can't bottle a hurricane or can a tornado. You can't even package the delight of a summer breeze. Nothing holds the wind back and nothing prevents it from coming and going. That is our life in the Spirit, with no ties or bondage to this world.
Jesus told a parable of a farmer scattering his seed which, for me, speaks much of our destiny and God's purpose for us in this place. He described how the seed fell in different types of soil. First some fell on the walking path which was packed down from all the walking. This seed was easily carried away by the birds. It never had a chance. Then there was the seed that fell in soil that was not really prepared, having rocks just under the surface. The roots could not grow so when it became hot the plant simply dried up and died. The third fell in soil that also contained many weeds. The plant grew but it was so chocked off by the weeds that it produced no "fruit". The last seed fell in well prepared soil, minus weeds, where it grew and produced a huge harvest:
Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times. (Mark 4:8)
That seed is the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, our life in God, and the plant is what God produces out of our heart. It is our kindness, good deeds, healing power, words of knowledge and the Word of salvation we carry with us to share with the nations. We are meant to be fruitful; it is our destiny to be multipliers of the Kingdom. It is our purpose for being in this place, to share Jesus with everyone. Unfortunately, we are more like the seed among the weeds.
We are meant to be as free as the wind from the trappings and sins of this world. Instead, we try to live a life of duplicity, chasing after the things of this world. We are more concerned about jobs, money, girlfriends and boyfriends, making the right connections, credit problems, mounting bills, health issues and so on. All the time we have the solution for all of it right in front of us in our Saviour Jesus. We fill our life with sorrow, producing nothing in our lives for the Kingdom, whereas Jesus designed us for joy, peace and his prosperity. We keep forgetting that we have died to ourselves and all of this. We act more like a sinking rock than the free roaming wind.
The solution is not a complicated one. It's time to take a weed whacker to the weeds of our life. It's time to cut loose a few things that no longer belong to us, that are no longer part of our "living for Jesus". It's time to throw off our bondage and set our sails. It's time to simplify a few things, change some priorities, face a new direction, take in a new view and step out in faith. It is time to step into our destiny and allow Jesus to produce in us a great harvest so that we can be used for his glory. It is time to move from consumer to producer, from useless to useful, from empty to full, from life to death back to life again in Jesus. It is time my friends to change from being a sinking rock to the free flowing wind, where God can be glorified in us and through us.
It is a decision. It is a decision to turn our back on the pattern of this world. It is a decision to step out of the garbage heap and into the freedom of life in the Spirit. It is a decision to say no to this world and yes to the lover of our soul. It is a decision you can make right now. Let's get that weed whacker out.
No comments:
Post a Comment