Let Go

Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

The chains are broken, but I'm still holding on

My cares. My fears. My sins. All stacked and wrapped tightly together.

I drag it behind me as I walk through life, and it never gets any lighter.

Then I met Jesus, and He set me free. He broke the chains when He died for me on the cross. When He rose from the dead, He gave me new hope for a better life now, and eternal life to come.

But I find myself picking up those old chains and wrapping them tightly in my hands. And I begin pulling again. So foolish. Why do I do this?

For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.

So now what?

If we pick up the old burden, we are not carrying the new purpose that God has given us. We are not fulfilling our role. We are not doing our job.

And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

No where to lay his head

If we choose Jesus, we must foresake all else. This world is not our home. If we look for permanence here, how can we receive what is to come?

And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. Job 1:21

As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. Ecclesiastes 5:15

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 1 Timothy 6:7

Let the dead bury their dead

If Jesus calls us to walk in new life with him, but we hesitate to move forward in order to seek "closure" from our past, we choose to remain dead. We choose to subject ourselves to old authorities, guides, and laws. None that lead to eternal life. Even if they are worn paths of worldly "success", we still end up as empty husks in the ground.

No man...looking back...is fit for the kingdom of God

If we choose to follow Jesus, we must be ready to move forward now. If we are distracted by our past goals and responsibilities, we will be unable to do what we are called to do.

My Current Mindset

At the time of this writing, I am struggling with this last one. I have a family that I love dearly, but I also used them as an excuse to go my own way to be "responsible" and "provide". I knowingly made the decision to set aside the calling of God for my own vain glory. To build my own kingdom. My soul has suffered for this decision. I have since turned back and the Lord is faithful and healing me, but it is hard to let go sometimes. This meditation is convicting me even further as I never deeply examined these scriptures to this extent.

Art Inspiration

This is actually the second version of this piece. I made the first one over 16 years ago. I was compelled to do this one because I experienced it even more deeply first-hand. Before, it looked more like the struggle of pulling a burden rather than clinging to it by choice. This time, I wanted all the attention to be focused on the hands that are holding the broken chains.

We choose to hold on. Even if we were set free.