Imagine being behind the closed and locked doors of a prison. Imagine the narrow view from any window there might be. The current ‘lockdown’ due to Covid 19, has given us a small taste of this reality. It’s also true when we live in a world of our own making, and imprisoned by unconscious fears. Maybe what I am saying speaks to you? Certainly that was me when I had no hope to escape the pain in my heart apart from working and giving to others. But finally with 28 years of work I was exhausted, and all that was in the dark was fighting to get out!! But I didn’t know what to do or how to do it!
This is where God’s promise to set prisoners free, for Him to act, is crucial. He led me to Him Spiritually, so He could turn the key in the lock and open the door of my inner being. I confessed my sins that separated me from Him; pride, self-willed actions, indifference to His Name and church, and lack of love and was forgiven in Christ’s Name. From God’s perspective I was free to live in freedom in Him. But my worldly mind needed renewing, and the heart, the inner being, needed to be restored to wholeness so emotions, mind and will could live in Peace for the purposes of God. All my impurity, disobedience to the Holy Spirit, grumbling mindsets and intellectual pride had to be overcome day by day.
This is the love of God. He rebirths us in His Spirit, then the Light (understanding) of His Spirit enables us to ‘see’ where we have prison bars, so we can face them one by one, and by His grace and Truth allow them to melt away. To begin with He fills us with grace and truth and life is relatively easy. The more complete we become, with emotions, mind and will more united in love for God, and His purposes, then the deeper and more ‘difficult’ patterns of behaviour and thinking can be exposed to the Light. We are frequently tempted back to the safety of the prison. I am reminded of the words of a priest who told me, ‘You don’t give your life to Christ once, you do it every day.’ In other words we need to keep committing to the Unlocked Door and the life of Christ.
We encounter trials in our lives, but have to fight with prayer, to keep His ways of handling disappointments, conflict and difficulties. We need to acknowledge our selfishness and desire for power and pray for grace to fight all desire to dominate. Let us remain focussed on Christ in His Freedom and love for the world, and His trust in God the Father, knowing nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Each new day, we have an invitation to embrace new-ness in Freedom in Christ, being willing to learn new things and go on untrodden pathways. I know I was given this grace as a child, despite the horrors I had lived, because the memory was locked away in God’s mercy. Now, when I have inner resources in faith, I am gradually being faced with memories of events that destroyed me humanly, but now in facing them, they restore me to wholeness in Christ, who suffered them with me. In Him the broken heart is healed, the fear is overcome and the running away of my mind is turned back to praise the wonder of the love of God.
Fear, anger and disappointment, and a sense of injustice were my major prison bars. I needed to own these feelings identified through my head, and be willing to feel the pain, claim the truth of who I am in Christ in God, and standing in the grace of God to heal my will for good. With the prison door open, and the bars melted through understanding and love, we are free to assess our physical environment itself. In His grace we can decide if this context is a fruitful one for our lives in love and service, and if not, ‘take up our bed and walk’., and to ‘carry our cross and follow Christ ‘ wherever He leads. We are invited to Eternal Life with Christ. May we have courage and humility to say ‘Yes’.
