The True Independence

In the early hours nation’s Independence Day memorial, some psychos in my hostel decided to go a little wild, and perhaps off their usual tone. Shouting at shrieking pitches with frequencies high enough to shatter glass panels, the only word on their mouth was one familiar to all,

“Merdeka!”

And yet, so few of them could truly appreciate the beauty of independence. What independence do we seek? What independence do we shout about, when the independence that one truly needs, is the independence in the heart and soul?

The night before, I was preparing a little sharing supposed to be presented for my cell group’s combined Independence Day celebration picnic. And the only passage in my mind, was the passage where Jesus spoke to the 2 disciples on the way to Emmaus.

As they talked and discussed, Jesus himself drew near and walked along with them; they saw him, but somehow did not recognize him.

Jesus said to them, "What are you talking about to each other, as you walk along?" They stood still, with sad faces.

One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn't know the things that have been happening there these last few days?"

"What things?" he asked.

"The things that happened to Jesus of Nazareth," they answered. "This man was a prophet and was considered by God and by all the people to be powerful in everything he said and did. Our chief priests and rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and he was crucified. And we had hoped that he would be the one who was going to set Israel free! Besides all that, this is now the third day since it happened. Some of the women of our group surprised us; they went at dawn to the tomb, but could not find his body. They came back saying they had seen a vision of angels who told them that he is alive. Some of our group went to the tomb and found it exactly as the women had said, but they did not see him."

Then Jesus said to them, "How foolish you are, how slow you are to believe everything the prophets said! Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and then to enter his glory?"

Luke 24:15-26

We come before god, petitioning and presenting Him with our shopping list of ‘prayer items’ and ‘prayer requests’, hoping that it would come to past. We don’t commit ourselves before God in total surrender or compliance, but instead come with expectations, wanting to see results, hoping that things will turn out our way, and waiting to see the stuff that we asked for.

How often do we do that?

If it were a crime, I’d be guilty, first degree.

Most of the time, we are, in Jesus’ very own words, “Slow to believe everything the prophets said”. The words of our prophets, are the promises that God has given to us. A promise that He is always there for us. A promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. A promise of rest to those who surrender to Him. A promise for a yoke that is light, and a burden that does not burn you out when you walk with Him in Him.

So simple. Yet, we doubt.

Sometimes – or most of the time – it’s easier to doubt than believe.

The beauty of this passage, the message that really struck me hard and left me pondering long into the night as I prepare this dedication post, is the fact, that Jesus knows even before we asks, and knowing what we want, He already has something better for us, that we could never imagine before.

What He sees, is the dreams that we have for ourselves. More than those dreams, He sees how our dreams stifle us, how our own dreams causes us to fall and stumble, how our dreams eventually lead to our own failure. He sees pride and ego in our dreams, He sees pain and agony in the process of achieving those dreams, He sees meaningless pursues and unfulfilled desires behind the illusion of a dream.

What He has prepared for us, is the deliverance from the bondage of our own dreams. An option to hang on to Him, a choice to let Him take control of our own life, an open door for us to walk into a land of green hopes and blue comforts from the deserts of desolation and the dryness of disappointment. More than just the deliverance from such a bondage, but a hope and a future.

“For I have plans for you, plans to prosper you not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”

When we only see our own failures, He is there, arms waiting to welcome you back with a warm hug, and to bring you back home in His own arms, into a journey that we were always meant to complete. When we only see the disappointments in life, He has always been there, watching from somewhere never far away, maybe just behind us to catch us when we fall; maybe by our side to mark our next step; maybe in front of us to clear some path that needs to be cleared; maybe, in our heart, to speak and talk to us, when no one can talk to us ever again.

“For was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and then to enter his glory?”

The price for freedom has already been paid in full. It is now up to us, to walk out of our own bondage that has already been paid for, and to move on into a life of freedom, where our sweetest dreams can be found and where our heart can truly lie in, is in the treasure of God’s promises.

Happy Independence Day Malaysians. Much has been done, but more is yet to be fulfilled. Get right, get straight, and get going, as usual and forever, but this time, with God in us. That should make a difference.