Unshackled Echo ~ January 21, 2017 ~ We Have A Home

Today's Unshackled Echo was previously published on

June 3, 2013 as We Have A Home.

"The disease of self runs through my blood

It's a cancer fatal to my soul

Every attempt on my behalf has failed

To bring this sickness under control"

~ "I Wanna Be In The Light" DC Talk

Gautama Buddha said, “Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.” There are some ideas that grow out of this statement that I agree with, and some that I don't. But I do know that God's mercies are new every morning. I also know that I need that truth, because every day my old man tries to resurrect itself. My self will does not like to be dead. I know that I am not alone in this.

The scriptures make it clear that Christ died once for all and for all time. That sacrifice and His victory over the grave was sufficient to cover all our failures and selfishness for all time. When God forgave us, He only did it once. When we are adopted as His children, it is a one time deal. We are His children. Once we belong to Him, we never belong to ourselves, or this world or Satan ever again. He is faithful to complete the work that He has begun, and Jesus thanked the Father that no one could take us from His hands, not even us. We are a new creation in Christ.

But while that work is complete and eternal for those who have been adopted by the Father through faith in the Son and His death and resurrection,  the manifestation of that truth in this realm is still a work in process. Jesus told us to take up our cross daily and follow Him. Paul wrote about dying daily. We are adopted children of God and that doesn't change, but do we act like it? Do we go through our day with the assurance and power that comes with being children of the most powerful being there is? Or do we slink through our day in fear that our "true" nature as orphans may come to light,  running the streets as though we were still parentless and lie, cheat, steal and fight to get what we need, or think we need, when the table of plenty waits for us to take what we need, for free and without price or struggle.

Until we see Him and are made perfect as He is perfect, our self will attempt to live anew. Our old nature, refusing to realize it is dead, will try to take back control of our lives. When self rises up and we begin to live like those who have never experienced grace, doing things we know aren't right, slipping into old behavior, as living like we're spiritually dead is sometimes referred to, we need to recognize it. It is a time and an indicator that we are not totally surrendered to God at the moment.

It doesn't mean we aren't His children. It doesn't mean we have failed Him and will be cast aside, orphaned once more. It simply means that we forgot who we are for a minute and still need Him. An orphan who is blessed by being adopted takes time to adjust to the idea that he or she is no longer homeless and alone. It takes time to trust that it isn't going to change and doesn't depend on their performance and whether they behave well enough. We too sometimes forget that we are His children and start feeling, thinking and living like the orphans we no longer are. We still need our savior.

Instead of beating yourself up and allowing condemnation to set in when you begin to take your will and life back from a place of surrender to God,  remember that what you really want is to be like your new Father. Then quickly be thankful that your behavior doesn't effect your adoption, so you don't have to make up for your mistakes. You just have to remember who you are in Christ and go back inside to get off the streets. There is no need to clean up first. There's a nice big bath tub in the house. Run into the arms of your Father like you belong there, and by doing so acknowledge and remind yourself of your new identity and die once more to self.

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