Remember your chains

 
     Sometimes it's good to remember.  To remember your chains, as Stephen Curtis Chapman sang in one of my favorite songs.  It's worth reading his powerful lyrics:

I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking
As he stared out the window to the sky
It seemed he was taking his last look at freedom
from the hopeless, longing look in his eyes
There were chains on his hands and on his feet
And as I passed him by the thought came to me

Remember your chains
Remember the prison that once held you
Before the love of God broke through
Remember the place you were without grace
When you see where you are now
Remember your chains
And remember your chains are gone.

There's no one more thankful to sit at the table
Than the one who best remembers hunger's pain
And no heart loves greater than the one that is able
To recall the time when all it knew was shame
The wings of forgiveness can take us to heights never seen
But the wisest ones, they will never lose sight of where they were set free
Love set them free

So remember your chains
Remember the prison that once held you
Before the love of God broke through
Remember the place you were without grace
When you see where you are now
Remember your chains
And remember your chains are gone

     We forget so quickly, don't we?  We forget what we truly deserved because of our sin and rebellion and selfishness.  We forget the hopelessness.  We forget the fear that could consume and the sorrow that could overwhelm.  And most of all, we forget what it was to be a prisoner to sin and death, enslaved to ourselves and our pride.
     We forget all that Christ saved us from and all He saved us to.  He saved us from that feeling of emptiness and hunger--for He is the Bread of Life that always feeds and satisfies the deepest longings of the human heart.  From emptiness to fullness.  He saved us from the desperate thirst for satisfaction and joy that we could never seem to fulfill--for He is the Living Water that fills us to overflowing with His living, joyful Spirit.  From the exhaustion of unmet desires to continual filling by His springs of water that run dry.   He saved us from the crippling constriction of worry and fear--for He is our Peace and is the Prince of Peace.  From worry to peace.
     He saved us from despair and hopelessness in all the dead-end places of our lives--for He is the Door to eternal life and abundant life and hope.  From despair to new hope.  He saved us from loneliness--for He is the Good Shepherd who knows and loves His sheep and calls us each by name. From loneliness to never alone.  He saved us confusion and doubt in a world of darkness and uncertainty--for He is the Light of the Word.  With Him we need never walk in darkness.  From darkness to Light.
      And He saved us from guilt and shame and an eternity apart from Him--for He is the Resurrection and the Life.  "Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26)   Yes, Lord, we believe, is our heart's cry. How I pray it is yours.
     From hopelessness to hope.  From purposelessness to purpose.  From despair to joy.  From blindness to sight.  From hunger and thirst to satisfaction.  From fear and worry to peace.  From pride to happy humility.  From brokenness to wholeness.  From death to life.  From chains to freedom.
     And from sickness to health.  From coma to laughter with friends.  From ICU to a football game at UNC (where Tessa and Janie are right now, praise God!).  From breathing only with the help of a machine to taking deep, full breaths in the fresh autumn air.  From holding a quiet vigil by our still child's bedside to laughing at the weight of her wheelchair as we hoist it into the car.  From looking at the sky from the small window of a hospital room to walking outside and rejoicing in the inky night sky dotted with sparkling pinpricks of starlight.  From worrying about lung infections to worrying about possible homework assignments.  From watching our child fed by a feeding to tube to enjoying a hot meal of pasta (and, of course, cake!) cooked by a dear friend, all sitting together at our kitchen table.  From wiping her fevered, motionless brow to running to get her favorite face wash so she can wash her face and brush her teeth.  So many everyday blessings!  So many stones rolled away!  So many chains removed--O might we never take for granted even one blessing of freedom.  Freedom--it comes in all shapes and sizes, but it is always beautiful!
     We will not forget the chains.  For we know who removed the chains and rolled away the stone for our Janie.  And we will thank the Lord to the day we die for His wondrous healing power.
     But might we all rejoice and never forget the far greater, more glorious, more joyous, and utterly undeserved miracle: that our own chains of sin and death were removed forever by our Savior at the cross on Calvary.  And if those chains still bind you, know that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life--He is the Way to freedom.  He is ready and willing and able to remove the chains of sin of ALL who call on Him by faith.  Today can be your day of true freedom.                    
     Might we live each day remembering our chains... and then rejoicing that our chains are gone.
     To the God, the Savior, who removed all our chains and freed us to eternal, abundant Life, be all the glory.