This means that all the things from my past, what I was, is gone. God made me new. And, with Jesus, He keeps making me new. He keeps growing me and teaching me and guiding me. He keeps flooding my heart with new revelations and convicting me when I stumble.
The past was not a place where I lingered. It was not a place that was healthy. And so, when Satan or other people would try to throw my past in my face, I was usually able to hold on to the knowledge that Jesus forgave me and bought me out of that slavery. He redeemed me and began construction on my thoughts and emotions and heart. 🚧 My past, the events that led to a change in my identity, from rejected to chosen, from defeated to warrior, from slave to royalty, became a part of a glorious story that began long ago, and will last for eternity.
It’s such a beautiful story... redeemed by a great Savior, rescued from slavery, from bondage, freed to become a child of a King. And then, as if that wasn’t enough, I get to be a bride of Jesus, with the Spirit of God not just by my side but living inside me.
It’s a story where the fatherless are shown a father, the Father. Adopted by Him into His family after a lifetime of abandonment and rejection. He loves her, His child, unconditionally and completely. He loves her so much that He sent His son to buy her freedom from the wicked slave holder. The price was the ultimate price. The Son wasn’t buying a virtuous princess. He was buying a thief, a murderer, a liar... a condemned woman.
She wasn’t exactly a pure, noble, misunderstood Cinderella. The only thing she had in her bankrupt soul was a desire to be loved. The King saw that. He wasn’t disillusioned or confused. He knew her. He knew her mistakes, her flaws, her rebellion, her vileness, the stench of her sin. He knew she could never earn her freedom. He knew the stains on her could not be cleaned with soap and water. He knew she could never escape. She was not just a slave, she was sentenced to die for her crimes, should they come to light. She was marked for death, her heart full of darkness. But a small part of her longed for light.
The true heir was sent on a mission to redeem the woman. The Father sent His only Son, to buy the woman from captivity, from enslavement. The Father wanted to adopt the woman into His family. He saw her, the true her, the her she could be. He loved her despite her past. And His Son did also.
The Son had to pay the price for the woman’s crimes if she was ever to be free of the enslavement, to be free of herself. She was sentenced to die, and to pay that penalty for someone else had never been done in the past. The Son had committed no crime. He was honorable, holding virtue and nobility. He was perfect. And yet, He voluntarily paid the penalty to redeem a criminal by being condemned as a criminal. He was put to death for her.
The story only begins there. He paid the price for her crimes at the cost of His life, but death was not the end. For the Father was a powerful King, and He bestowed on His Son power... the power to overcome one last enemy, the enemy of death. Death was vanquished. The Son overcame death to rise again. He then went to the woman, His promised bride, to tell her He would return for her soon. He was preparing His Kingdom for her. He was preparing for the greatest feast. Until His return, she was free. She was free from her past, free from the vileness and stench, free from enslavement, free to be the daughter she had always longed to be.
She had a family now. She had a Father now. She had a mission now. She was a bride, a royal daughter, an heir. She was now a soldier, as all true royals will fight for their kingdom. She must learn the ways of the kingdom in which she now belonged. She must prepare to serve her people. She was so overwhelmed by the Son’s sacrifice for her, for His payment for her crimes, by the fact that He had such power that even death couldn’t defeat Him, that she knew she would give herself freely to Him and serve Him all her days.
That didn’t mean it was easy. She stumbled as her past was still in her memories. She struggled with old temptations that had once held her captive. Those old temptations had held empty promises and fleeting pleasures, but they were all she had known for so long that it was sometimes tough to let them go. She failed so often. But each time she failed, she would turn to her promised One and to her Father and they would forgive and guide. Sometimes there needed to be reprimands when she forgot who she now was and turned back to her old ways. Sometimes the Father simply needed to hold her as she struggled with learning an entire new world.
The new Kingdom can be difficult to understand. There is no other kingdom that has ever existed that can compare to this Kingdom. The language is not common. The history is rich and complex, and has joined in with many other kingdoms. It is a mysterious Kingdom that can’t be fully understood by anyone that hasn’t gone to live there. Once a member lives in the Kingdom, they don’t return. They don’t want to return. The few that have caught even a small glimpse have such a glorious experience that it is impossible to use words to explain.
By far, the most challenging lessons about the Kingdom to learn are the ways of the Father and His Son. They seem simple, but are so challenging to actually do. They don’t make sense in this world. That Kingdom is the opposite in many ways from the kingdom the woman knows. She struggles to learn the ways of the new Kingdom.
The Son gave her a book, full of lessons and stories and His Words. The book is her lifeline, teaching and training her. It is a treasure, and as she reads it and studies it, she feels the fog clear. However, the training into the new Kingdom’s ways never is truly complete. There is always more to learn about her new Kingdom, the Son, and the Father.
The mission doesn’t end. The Father seeks to bring freedom to as many as He can. The payment for the woman’s crimes has been paid, as well as the payment for the crimes of anyone that seeks to be a part of this new Kingdom and free from enslavement. He asks His newly adopted daughter to tell others freedom is available. He asks His daughter to teach others the ways of the new Kingdom. He asks His daughter to be a servant to others, using the gifts and talents He gave her to do His will until the time for her to move to the new Kingdom arrives. He asks for her to be an ambassador for His Kingdom in this world.
This world made her a slave. This world left her abandoned and rejected. This world offered her pleasures that left her dirty and shamed. This world filled her with empty promises and left her in chains, owing debts she could never pay. This world was run by a tyrant that hated the woman, and was determined to torture and torment her. When she didn’t know there was a Kingdom where she truly belonged, this place was the only home she knew and she tried to survive. Once the promise of the true Kingdom was tasted, she didn’t want this to stay in this place. She longed for her true home.
But the Son asked her to stay, just for awhile. When she felt the crush of disappointment that she was going to have to wait for Him in the land that had once imprisoned and poisoned her, she despaired. She was fearful she would return to her enslavement when the darkness here attempted to overwhelm. This place was often painful. The battles here were like engaging in guerilla warfare, as the enemy never fought fair.
The enemy hated the woman. He despised her when he made her a prisoner. Her despised the fact that the Father wanted her. He despised her even more now that the bounty on her had been paid. He didn’t want her, but he didn’t want the Father to adopt her or the Son to claim her. He wanted to destroy her. This was his world, temporarily. His power was limited, but he used whatever he could.
The woman knew he would lie, cheat, and attack relentlessly. He would tease her with temptations that led to chains. He had tricked her before. She knew ultimately he would be punished eternally, but until that day, she would have to fight him. She grew weary fighting him.
She begged the Father to not make her stay. But He showed her the one thing that would give her purpose... other slaves. He showed her those still in chains, the way she had been.
“But wasn’t the price paid for them also?” She asked, confused.
“Yes,” said the Father sadly. “But they don’t know or don’t want to see that the chains are no longer locked. They can get free of them. The price for their freedom, like the price for yours, was paid. The ability to be adopted by Me and join My Kingdom is right there, available. Some don’t know it. Some have heard but don’t believe. Some enjoy the crimes that put them in chains. Some have been lied to and believe the lies. And some, a few, hate Me and all I claim as mine.”
“What am I to do?” The woman asked, feeling her heart break for those that were facing condemnation for their crimes, crimes she too had committed. She had been redeemed. She had been rescued. She hadn’t paid for her crimes. The Son had paid her penalty. She owed Him her life.
“Fight for them.” The King whispered in her ear. “Fight to bring them into the Kingdom.”
“It’s too hard.” She cried out in fear. “The enemy will work to destroy me. He already hates me, as I hate Him. If I fight for them, He will place a target on me that will leave me no place to hide. He won’t just come after me, he will come after those around me.”
“Hide in me.” The Father’s voice was calm, certain, strong. “This a war where the prize is not treasures of gold or jewels, but souls. You are now my daughter belonging to My Kingdom. You will never fight alone, no matter how ruthlessly or dirty the enemy fights.”
“But my loved ones...” She mumbled weakly, seeing the faces of the ones the Father had blessed her with.
“Like you,” He told her, “they must choose for themselves which kingdom they wish to serve, which family in which they want to belong. They will be a target anyway, My child. Fight for them, as the enemy wishes to enslave them, to destroy them. But child, understand that Your choice to accept My Son’s sacrifice may influence others, but it will not redeem anyone but you. They must choose for themselves.”
“But Father,” the woman protests, “I cannot bear it that some will not choose You. I know how tough it can be to choose you and stay strong in this land.”
“My heart is more grieved than yours could ever be.” The Father shakes His head. “I long for each one of them. After all, I know their true worth. I also know the result if they choose the enemy’s ways.”
The Father’s eyes took on a glint of steel, determined, even as His voice was hoarse with the grief of loss. “It must be their choice.”
The woman knows the Father is correct. She feels the safety and love and acceptance that come from having a loving Father, and remembers how it felt to not have known that love, that sense of safety and belonging. She cries for those that have never known, those in bondage as she was. The Father reassures her, reaffirming His love for His chosen child.
“I celebrated in heaven when you chose to accept my Son’s sacrifice and become My child. I rejoice over you every moment. My adopted children are flawed, struggle, and sometimes fail. But I rejoice over them, for their hearts long for Me and for My Son. They carry My Spirit in them, and I will never forsake them.”
The woman saw her life in this world, this temporary land made by her Father, cursed by the evil one. It was a land full of slaves, many of which didn’t know they were slaves. They thought they were home, that this place is all that exists. This created land is now cursed, a battle zone, a training zone. In this land the Father sent His Son to redeem the slaves, the ones that were caught in a battle of light and dark.
The woman would stay in this land, waiting for the time the Son returned for her. She would train. She would study. She would fight. She would love. She would experience deep sorrow and know great joy. She would choose to fight for those she saw enslaved, as she once was. She would fight to convince the slaves, considering many only saw their own comfort and not their need, not their chains. A glimpse at the woman would bolster their supposition that she was not correct. For the woman was flawed and even a bit unpopular. They would see the crimes that had led to her enslavement, and choose to overlook the differences since her liberty began. Many would grow to hate her, as the evil one hates her, believing his lies and manipulations.
Had they looked deeper, they would have seen the Son. They would have discovered the Father.
Not all is lost, for the Father is determined. The Son is relentless. The woman is strengthened. The love for the slaves is stronger than the hate the enemy holds. It is stronger than life. It is stronger than death. The enemy is a defeated foe, trying to inflict as much damage as he can in his limited time before the Son returns. But the fate of the enemy is a written decree that cannot be nulified. The promise of the Father is certain. The reign of the Son is guaranteed. The Bride is promised, and she anticipates, her awaited Kingdom with her Beloved. The battles here for slaves... souls... pale in comparison to what awaits when the Son claims His throne with His bride at his side.
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