Freedom on a String
If you could keep a log of what occupies your thoughts, what would be on that log? Are you thinking about the things that burden you, the hurts and hang ups, the bumps and bruises, maybe the turbulent world we will in? You might spend an exorbitant amount of time thinking about your health, your family, your wealth, your career, your future. And while it is good to think about, even to ponder, the things of this world, especially the things you can control, it is also detrimental to your health, your soul, your relationships, to focus on, even fret about, those things.
Focusing on the fickleness and brokenness of life on earth eventually brings doubt, despair, and hopelessness. If you have not experienced that reality yet, the fact of life is that at some point you will. Life will track you down and it will let you down, guaranteed. Occupying your heart and mind on those things also goes against what scripture teaches. In Colossians 3:1-2 we read – “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
What those verses do not say is to ignore, to neglect, life on earth. We are called to think about, and live out, being the best spouse, parent, sibling, son or daughter, employee, boss, friend, neighbor, and citizen that we can possibly be. We are to think about those things, just not become preoccupied with them. We are to view everything against the backdrop of eternity and no longer live as if this world is all that matters.
Those two verses give us the “what” while vv.3-4 give us the “why” – “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” That should give you great hope. The phrase “for you died” refers to the reality that through the blood of Jesus, the Christ-follower is dead to sin (Ephesians 1:7).
Dead to sin does not mean sinless but, rather, that the power (dominion) of sin over you is broken. In contrast to Adam and Even trying to hide from God after they sinned in the Garden (Genesis 3:8), being “hidden with Christ in God” points to safety and being in God’s constant care, while “when Christ appears” makes clear the fact that those who have put their trust in Jesus will forever be with Him, in this life and the life to come. It says that the pain and fickleness of today will be replaced by the joy of eternity spent with Jesus.
So, when your world begins to crumble, when life spins out of control, when parts begin to fly off and your engine sputters, if you strive to set your heart and mind on things above (rather than on earthly things), the sky that once looked stormy, gray and gloomy, will begin to look cloudless and blue with a gentle breeze; a sky perfect for flying kites.
In a 2017 TEDx talk, Nic O’Neill, who at the time was president of the American Kitefliers Association, called kites “freedom on a string” for the transformative power they bring to the kite flier. Striving to set your heart and mind on things above will allow God’s transforming power to begin to seep into every crack and crevice of your soul, turning doubt to confidence, despair to joy, hopelessness to hopefulness, bondage to freedom, freedom on a string.
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