Photo by Dulcey Lima on Unsplash

fly

I spent much of May traveling. The first trips in May were on planes. When I think of flying, I think of freedom, soaring, being above the fray. Traveling by air isn’t much like that anymore. It is more burdensome these days. We have so many rules to go by to even get our luggage checked and get ourselves through security that we wonder if we will ever survive that portion of the trip!

It is only when we have traveled often enough that we are able to get into more of a routine about it and get the right passes so we don’t have to go through as much screening that our trips can be less cumbersome.

At the risk of sounding moralistic today, I would like to make a few parallels to the Christian life. When we first become Children of GOD, we begin hearing about all the “rules”  of the Christian life. It becomes more of a burden to be a Christian and we wonder, “What have I done?” This is miserable and burdensome.

Many rules we learn early in our walk with Christ, are there to help us in our growth. They aren’t meant to be burdensome, but are there to train us so we can fly!

But many of the rules, the good ones, are there to help train us in the way we need to go. Many are not absolute rules for all the time, but are rules to guide us.   stop  They help in our training.

As we get trained, we don’t follow each rule as such. At least hopefully we don’t. We learn from the good rules, and develop the habits needed to live the Christian life GOD wants for us. If we have learned to put off and put on the things He has told us to, we often find that we are flying. The restrictions that once seemed burdensome, are the things that now help us fly!

Time spent in GOD’s Word is encouraging and grows you. Time in prayer with GOD strengthens your relationship with Him as you walk together and grow closer. The time you spend with His people grows you in other ways as you worship and work together in community. Is it always easy? No. Nothing valuable is. But learning to fly as a Christian is worth it as you grow in grace over time.

What has helped you fly as a Christian that once felt like a burden?

The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:28-31 ESV

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