Freely give freedom!

"Go to the lost sheep of [the house of] Israel. As you go, preach THIS MESSAGE: 'The Kingdom of heaven is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."

We are commanded to go. We are commanded to go to the lost sheep. We are commanded to tell them that the Kingdom of heaven is near. We are commanded to set them free, because we have been set free. Oh, what a life!

Go, travel, journey, walk, remove, depart... die. Die for the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message, 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' Sound like someone you know? Oh, just wait. 'Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.' Yup. These aren't words of a friend asking for help on a project. 'Freely you have received, freely give.' These are the words of a Man that knows Life birthed through death. He is Life birthed through death.

You could basically say, 'Freely you have received (healing, life, freedom, deliverance), now freely go to the lost sheep of Israel, and tell them the kingdom of heaven is near. And when you tell them, they will see it at work in you, so you should give it to them! They will see that death is no longer at work in you, and they will freely receive Life.'

As the sick are healed, the Body will walk in strength. As the dead are raised, the Body will fulfill her purposes the enemy tried to steal. As the lepers are cleansed, the Body will walk free of shame. As the burdened are set free of the demonic, the Body will be filled with the Spirit of Truth, and the Beauty of Jesus will overtake the hearts of men. And as we freely give the freedom we have received, as we love the unlovable as Jesus loved us, the Bride will look like Jesus. The Father will proclaim that "The Bride has made herself ready."

I remember being a lost sheep. But at the same time, I don't remember. What a blur my life was without the freedom that came from knowing Jesus. I don't remember anything about who I was, or what I liked, or what was real. I remember nagging feelings of unworthiness on the inside. To this day, I look back and try to remember who I was, but I've come to terms with the fact that I can't. Actually, the TRUTH is that we cannot identify ourselves outside of being set free in Jesus.

I'm so thankful that others have freely given me their freedom. I'm so thankful that people left their comfort zones to tell me that the kingdom of heaven was near. I'm so thankful that the Father sent Jesus to reconcile me to Himself, giving me as a Bride to His Son, so that through the Spirit we could commune on earth and dwell together for eternity.

Church, I love you, I am thankful for you, I am thankful to be a part of you. Thank you for being in relationship with Jesus so that my diseases could be healed, and that Life would replace the dead inside of me, that shame would not manifest in my body, and that demons would flee because of your commitment and love to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Jesus, may we be set free to be like you, devoid of shame and guilt, so that we can freely give your heart, emotion, personality, and love to those who call upon Your name. May we truly die to the bondage we've been set free of, and give richly to the hurting, lost, and broken. A life for a life. Loving the one in front of us.