rMag

Off the Face of the Earth

Maria Pauline

Have you ever considered what it will be like to fall off the face of the earth?

The question popped into my head one day. It’s still there, whirling around in my mind. There is something amazing in the idea that I will someday fall off of this earth! Imagine just being in a space void of everything but good. To float among the stars, filled with the presence of the Lord! No sin, no pain, no sorrow. Just free.

So often I feel bound by the world. Gravity holds me down. Hunger and fatigue take control. There are constant battles with the devil and my own sinful nature. But someday I will be free!

I Am Free

My idea of this future freedom seemed so distant - until I began to write it down, that is. That’s when I realized something else: freedom isn’t just for tomorrow! Christ has already set me free.

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32, NIV).

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

This is one of those things that I learned in Sunday School. Jesus is the truth, and when I know Him, I am set free from sin and death because of His sacrifice. I’m not sure I understand exactly how it works, but I know that it does.

I also know that the Bible has some specific directions for those who have been set free:

“Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace” (Romans 6:13,14).

“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13).

Since Christ has set me free, I love Him and want to serve Him. And that is exactly what I am supposed to do!

Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that this is the only way to remain free. There are two forces in this world - God, who is good, and Satan, who is evil. Either I can serve God, or I can serve Satan.

“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24).

The Bible clearly tells us that Jesus is God, and therefore Jesus is good, because God is good. Jesus is the Truth; therefore, the Truth must be good. And since the Truth sets me free, freedom is good and is of God. When written like a math equation, it goes something like this:

Good = God = Jesus = Truth = Freedom

Freedom is part of the Kingdom of God. Anyone ruled by the Kingdom of Darkness cannot be free, because freedom is of God.

The Battle

Here is where the problem arises. I have become part of the Kingdom of God, and therefore I am free from the Kingdom of Darkness. Yet my sinful nature is still there.

“For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (Romans 7:19,20).

Satan is not too happy that I have been freed from his clutches. He keeps luring me away from my King, and, despite my efforts, I sometimes give in. But God, like the father of the prodigal son, always welcomes me back.

Even though I often fail, I am not to give up. I am to stand firm in the faith, relying on the grace and strength of God, because someday I will be transformed. When that happens, my sinful nature will be left behind and I will be free from temptation forever.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, NIV).

Furthermore, when those hardships come, God has a wonderful promise for me!

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7, NIV).

Why Does This Even Matter?

Okay, so Jesus has set me free from sin, death, and the power of evil, and has made me part of the Kingdom of God, but Satan entangles me in wild schemes in an effort to win me back to his Kingdom and a life of slavery under his tyrannical rule. Why does this even matter? The answer is actually quite simple.

First, it is the truth. And once again, the truth sets me free, this time from the clutches of erroneous thinking. Second, it gives me hope for tomorrow. The assurance that someday I won’t be worn down by fatigue, dealing with a broken internet connection, trying to convince an uncooperative serger to sew, or puzzling over questions in my economics textbook, somehow makes dealing with all that stuff now so much easier.

Looking upward from this earthly life, I see a little glimpse of heaven. It is so beautiful and priceless. And suddenly, because I have been promised a place there at last, I no longer see the trials here on earth, for I am looking heavenward.

Whatever cost may be exacted from me here on earth, I know that heaven is worth it. There is no way I could afford it myself, but Jesus bought it for me with His spotless life, making any suffering of mine meager in comparison.

Life in this world is difficult, but it is short. Moreover, for me, it is only a prelude to what is to come. Someday I will graduate from this “School of Hard Knocks” to life - real life, the kind of life only God can give.

In other words, I know that suffering and trials are temporary. For, ” . . . [W]eeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). Falling off the face of the earth into the arms of Jesus is definitely a cause for rejoicing!