To Set At Liberty (Rom.8:15)
You did it once again, O Lord,
For, as I took You at Your word,
And followed out Your recipe,
This brother, Lord, has been set free.It’s not he was not free before,
For he had learned to You adore;
But somehow in the mix of things,
No freedom felt which Spirit brings.For when Your Spirit fills our souls,
We sometimes think that bondage rolls
Like blanket soft, enwraps our head,
And smothers life – we’re worse than dead.A world of “can’t”, and “don’t”, and “must”;
Of “Got-to”, “Have-to”, “Stifled trust”;
Of “Law”, “The strait and narrow path”;
And “Tow The Line – avoid His wrath”.But you and I know fully well
That bondage is – an early hell;
For what? To spend eternity
With those who never lived as free?I think not – that’s the road to hell –
Of hell, to hell – not living well;
Christ came to set the prisoners free,
Not squeeze the life from you and me.“Abundance”, “joy”, words Jesus used
When speaking of His life as Jew
To friends and kin, bound up in life
As Pharisees – restrictions tight.A Pharisee in Jesus’ day
Was member of a group which laid
A path to life, enriched and filled
With Spirit-life, as God had willed.One hundred fifty years or so,
Their lives enriched, they came to know
The Word applied to daily life,
As God’s supply in stress and strife.Before, the Word had stayed inside
The Temple walls, “Where God resides”
Then some said, “No, let’s take it out
To daily life – feel victory’s shout!”But as the generations passed,
Those Words from God declined at last
To walls of rules for daily life,
Like former walls, there in the night.Then Jesus came with laughter – free;
Said, “Look afresh at the meaning – see
God’s given us our liberty –
So lighten up! Hey! Follow me!“I did not come to set aside
Law’s guidance – but to now reside
In you as Spirit – step aside
And let me in – in you reside.“I’ll carry out the law through you;
I’ll guide your way; grace you to do
Some little tasks, like ‘this and thats’,
Which gives Me room to do some act.“I’ll turn your ‘got’ to ‘get’, and show
Your ‘got-to’ shifts to ‘get-to’ so
Your list of ‘shall-nots’ shifts as well,
From law to promise – freed from hell.“For it’s about a Spirit-walk;
Live as I’ve lived – let Spirit talk
To you inside – ‘Turn left’, ‘Turn right’,
‘Now Stop’, ‘Now go’, ‘Apply your might’.“Then, as you walk as Spirit-led,
And as your heart’s by Spirit fed,
You’ll look behind, and in your wake
See life unfold, for Goodness’ sake.”Thus Jesus speaks to us today;
Invites us in, to life His way;
Folks live in Him ten-thousand ways,
And free they are throughout their days.navigation