Captive

 

You’re a captive;

You’re a prisoner;

Put in jail by yourself

By thoughts that torture,

But thoughts that you allow.

You hold to your pitiful hurts

That weren’t meant for you to keep,

Holding on to lies you create.

Stuck in your own head.

Tortured with your own tortures.

No one is doing it to you.

You do it to yourself.

You keep yourself from living

And block out life and joy,

Because life and Joy

Is found in Christ alone,

Not in self.

The truth will set you free,

But you live in a lie.

The truth is the gospel,

But you take a lie over truth.

And you live in the lie,

And bask in that lie,

And feed that lie,

And make it big and ugly,

And beautifully destructive.

You love your lie,

But you hate your life.

Because of the lie you live,

You’re a captive to yourself.

You serve yourself

And live to self

And can’t let go of self.

You are a prisoner to yourself,

Imprisoned by yourself.

But…..

This isn’t the way it has to be,

Isn’t the way it was meant to be.

The truth will set you free

If you will grasp that key.

The gospel, Christ’s love,

Redemption, Christ’s blood,

His forgiveness.

There is freedom in Christ

And his love

Which is so much greater

And stronger

Than any human could ever give.

Because Christ suffered,

And was tortured, and died,

And carried the sins

Of the very ones he loved

So dear.

Yet the ones he loves

Are the ones

Who put him on that cross.

We.

We hated him.

Despised him.

Mocked him.

Killed him.

But he.

He loved while we hated.

He forgave and we killed.

Essentially,

He loved, but we rejected.

Stuck in our own selfish pride,

We rejected his love.

But God,

Rich in mercy,

Abounding in grace,

Gave his son

To die

For those who will believe.

Believe.

Believe in grace.

Bask in grace.

Be set free by grace

And let grace pour

In and out of you.

Live.

Live to Christ.

Be set free in Christ.

Live for Christ and die to self,

For freedom comes

In living for the one

Who sets us free.

Free from sin

And bondage

And lies that we believed.

Freedom comes in Christ

Who sets the captive free.

Be set free in Christ!

But…..

What about this pain,

And what about this scared heart,

And the hurt she caused me?

What about this broken heart

That’s been shattered and

Crushed a million times?

This is the excuse you give.

And this is my reply

To you.

I know there’s pain

And hurt in life.

I’ve felt rejection too.

But Christ, he felt is worse

Than you or me

Could ever feel.

He felt rejection

From the very ones

He gave his life

To save.

He gave his life

For you and me.

He gave us life,

While we

Stood by

To mock

And scorn

And laugh

At him.

He bled and died,

And was rejected

By all the ones he loved,

And that, my friend,

Is true love.

He loved us

Despite our spite.

He loved us in our rags.

He loved the ones

Who shunned him most.

So….

Now I ask you, friend,

Why live to self?

Why make yourself

A captive to yourself,

When Christ has died

To set you free?

He gave his life

For you and me,

So let us live

For Christ,

Whose love

Is greater than

Any kind of love

From  weak and small
Humanity.
Live to Christ.
Be set free.