Kingdom Harbor

Trinity Sunday: Romans 8:12-17

My mom took us three kids to the mall when we were at prime begging age—maybe 8, 10, and 12 years old. Mom probably intended to simply return something and come home empty handed. Instead, she came home with an adorable black and white kitten from the pet store in the mall. 

“We’ll take turns cleaning the litter box out each day,” we all (falsely) promised. I’m sure Mom knew we wouldn’t follow through, and the reason she budged was that she had also fallen under the spell of the furry little ball behind the glass.
One moment those big sad eyes and fluffy paws were locked inside a 3 x 3 foot cage living in a stale store void of natural sunlight. The next moment he was being set free from bondage, adopted into a loving family, given a name (“Snoopy”), and transferred into a new realm of hopeful and loving possibilities. There’s a world of difference between an animal inside a cage and a pet inside a home. 

In today’s passage below, Paul is describing the new realm of possibilities for Christians who have been rescued from their old cage-like existence Paul calls “life according to the flesh”—serving the slave-master of sin and death:

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Rom 8:12-17).

Christians have been redeemed from bondage, like the Israelites being set free from Pharaoh, and adopted into God’s family as beloved children. Like Snoopy being transferred from the realm of the cage into the realm of a loving family and expansive home, so Christians have been adopted and brought home to live a new kind of life in the realm of the Spirit. We must never again return to the death-dealing realm of life characterized by fear and leading to death and captivity. 

Every analogy eventually breaks down, and I can safely say that Snoopy lived a long and carefree life under my mom’s care. He was never once tempted to wander back into that old cage in the mall pet store. He had no choice but to make his happy, spoiled home in the spacious realm of our house on Westedge Boulevard. Tragically, you and I can and often do choose to wander back into the Realm of the Flesh, to breathe in the stale air of fear, and trade our identity as children of God and coheirs with Christ for an identity as slaves to sin and death. How do we avoid this folly and remain at home in the realm of God’s redeeming love? 

Paul says it comes down to which “spirit” is animating  us at any particular moment. Christians are acting consistently with their identity as adopted children when they are being led by the Spirit of God: “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” (v. 14). The Flesh-ly spirit leads us down Death Road or into Fear Valley. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, leads us down Life Avenue and onto Beloved Boulevard. In Paul’s words, “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (v. 13). This “life” and “death” spoken of here is not merely the end result or final destination. Paul speaks of a lifelong process of coming more fully alive in the Spirit, or gradually giving ourselves over to death’s destructive influence. 

Last year I surprised my kids (and wife!) by bringing home two new kittens. For the sake of my marriage, their new realm does not include inside our home; they are barn cats who live in the happy realm of our large shed/chicken coop along with our nine chickens. I inherited my mom’s soft spot for kitties, and I have fallen in love with Meow Meow and Katniss.

Every night around dusk, before the dangers of the dark emerge, I go outside and begin calling to them, “Here, Kitty-Kitty!” Eventually they come running, hearing their master’s voice, straight into the safety of the barn where they are met by my warm embrace and evening meal. They choose to come home each night and rest secure in the realm of my loving spirit. Their happy “meows” could just as well be their way of declaring, “Abba, Father.”  “How about you? 

Think about your life today and the state of your soul. Which “realm” are you currently inhabiting? Test the quality of the air, and consider what kind of air or “spirit” you are breathing in and out of your spiritual lungs these days? Are you breathing in and being led by the Holy Spirit-breath of God that has set you free and adopted you as children? Or are you breathing in and being led by a spirit of fear? A spirit of worry? A spirit of striving? A spirit of anger? A spirit of scarcity? A spirit of guilt and shame? 

Have you somehow wandered back into the cage of a stuffy, dim-lit mall pet store like existence that Christ came to set you free from? Are you staring with big sad eyes through a glass window at the world passing you by, feeling trapped and alone and unwanted? Have you forgotten your new name? Have you forgotten you have been adopted and brought home into the spacious realm of God’s undying love? 

If so, listen for His loving voice crying out at dinner time. Run toward His voice. Let him set you free and bring you home again. Cry out, “Abba Father,” as He pats you on the head and takes you into His safe and loving arms. You’re far more precious than any kitten ever adopted and brought home.