What Will You Toss In?
August 1, 1834, marked the day Great Britain outlawed slavery in all territories it controlled. Stories of the celebrations surrounding the announcement and the freedom it brought all tell of praise, music, prayers, and general festivities of gratitude.
One of these happened on Jamaica four years after the new law, in 1838. The Governor General called for a time of celebration and reflection. He invited all to come to the town square, and at the culmination of the ceremony a large coffin was wheeled out into the midst of the crowd. People had been told what to expect, but the effect on the people was powerful. The Governor called on the crowd to toss into the casket the symbols of their enslavement. Quickly the box filled with chains and whips and all sorts of reminders of slavery. When overfull, the lid was closed, nailed shut and lowered into an extra-deep hole. A metal plaque inscribed, “Colonial Slavery died July 31st, 1838, aged 276 years.” A coconut palm tree symbolizing new life was planted over it, and there lies in the earth, never to be seen again.
Tragically, on the more remote parts of the islands, some slave owners who were still against the new law chose not to tell their slaves about their freedom, and so for some time life continued as it had been before emancipation. Even though free, these slaves didn't know it. Freed, but still enslaved to the old forms and systems, these people trudged on in their enslavement. Remember the old line that goes, "What you don't know can't hurt you"? Well, this is one time when that was proved false. The slaves were free indeed, but didn't know it, and it truly hurt them.
As for Christ-followers today, some are free and living kingdom life here and now, others have yet to hear the news and are still in bondage, and tragically, some have heard but can't believe it is true and so continue to walk in fear as a slave.
Here is the good news: You and I, as followers of Jesus, have been freed from the chains that have enslaved us. All of them. Listen to Paul in his letter to the Galatians touch on this point as he discussed Jewish rules and rites no longer required to be approved by God.
Plant your feet firmly therefore within the freedom that Christ has won for us, and do not let yourselves be caught again in the shackles of slavery. Listen! I, Paul, say this to you as solemnly as I can: if you consent to [go with the old ways] Christ will be of no use to you at all....It is to freedom that you have been called, my brethren. Only be careful that freedom does not become mere opportunity for your lower nature. You should be free to serve each other in love.
These verses pack a lot into a few lines. Let's skim off just a bit of it this week.
As a believer and follower of Jesus, we stand free from all the burdens of our old life. Just like newly freed slaves, it takes time and contemplative understanding to grow into freedom. It won't come in an instant as we unlearn old pathways and grow into our freedom. Be patient.
The undertow of a former life is strong, and it is common to most of us to find ourselves looping back to our old unhealthy patterns of life. We dig up what was buried and fall into old ways of doing life. That's like putting back on the chains that in reality have no authority over us.
Freedom in Jesus is never just for us, but we are free to be people who love and serve others. Nothing to prove and nothing to lose by living beyond our own circle. It is freedom with a purpose.
The newly freed island slaves threw off symbols of their slavery and tossed them into the casket. Think for a moment about the power of seeing old ways of life tossed into a box, the lid nailed shut, and watching it drop into the ground. The release of emotion must have been enormous.
Most likely like me, you haven't been whipped or chained or mistreated, but we have been enslaved by any number of evil "masters." Jesus has called us to freedom. He hauled in no coffin to fill, but dragged a cross to die upon for us. At the empty tomb when he conquered death for all time he declared us free.
If we take the idea of the island coffin as a vehicle, we can do the same, but with habits and ideas that enslave us even today. Ponder for a bit what thoughts drag us down to old ways of doing life. It is your turn to come forward and toss into the coffin your symbols of the old life you lived under. I asked several friends what kinds of things might be tossed in the box, stuff that held us hostage in our past (and maybe still). Here are three that I will, time and again, toss in:
Those old behaviors that I know are counter-productive to my faith-life growth. I have mine and you have yours. Time to commit again to toss them away so I can better, bit by bit, walk in the newness of life that Jesus ushered me into. There is only intermittent freedom for us if we keep digging up that old junk. Toss it in today.
A performance mentality when it comes to faith-living. In this mindset, God only loves me to the extent that I behave and live an exemplary life, so we live on a never-ending hamster wheel. No freedom here, since we are only as good as our performance for God...and we never are good enough. Give it the heave-ho every time it comes to mind.
Thinking that you are defined by your failures. Sure, we all blow it, and you may have gone on from them, but too many feel the stumbles of the past still haunt them today. Very little freedom here as the shadow of past failures cripples your present life. They need a swift kick in the keister.
Here's an idea for the week: Name your chains and visualize tossing them into the coffin.
God says in Isaiah that when we are forgiven he drops our sins behind his back and cannot see them. Psalm 103 tells us that our sins are removed from us "as far as the east is from the west," in other words, a far piece. You get the point. Both of these show a decisive and deliberate act on God's part for us. He will not condemn us. He calls me free. It stands to reason that if I am the one going back and digging up the old stuff, that is not from Jesus. Just my old master. Doesn't it make sense to agree with God?
Name it.
Toss it.
Walk away...until the next time, then do it all again.
We are people in process, becoming what we will be, just not yet. Never forget: You are God's beloved. In Jesus we are forgiven and free. Let's encourage one another to walk more and more like who Jesus says we are. Let's go!
How about some music?
...and bad jokes
A driver got a speeding ticket and went to pay the fine.
The police clerk issued a receipt for payment and the annoyed driver said, "What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Keep it," the clerk advised. "If you collect enough of them, you get a
bicycle!"
_______
Dearest Dad,
I am coming home to get married soon. Can you help pay for a big wedding? I am presently in Australia, and the boy I love lives in Scotland. We met on a dating website, became friends on Facebook, had long chats on WhatsApp. He proposed to me on Zoom, and we've stayed in touch through Viber. Dad, can I count on you for a big wedding?
Your favorite daughter, Lilly
Dad's response…
My Dearest Lilly,
Like Wow! Really? Cool! I suggest you two get married on Twitter, have a honeymoon on Tango, buy your kids on Amazon, and pay for it all through PayPal. And when you get fed up with this new husband, sell him on eBay!
Love, Dad