My Chains are Gone

We had yet another amazing chapel this morning. A pastor came in and spoke on doubt. He had an excellent message but that's not exactly what spoke to my heart the most this morning. After his message there was an alter call and he played some songs on the piano to accompany the people prayer. I didn't go forward, I simply sat in my seat praying quietly.

You see, I had some apologizing and reconciling to do with God. I have been missing the mark for... who knows how long. I haven't really been living in my faith, I've just been going through the motions. And it was easy to convince myself that I was doing just fine when I was surrounded by the world (for example public high school or a non-christian workplace with people who party quite a bit). It's easy to try to tell God, "Yeah I know I'm not like that amazing missionary I heard about in church today, but look! I'm doing way better than they are!" And maybe that's what started the lack of motivation to really love and live for Jesus.

But as I was praying and just trying to listen to what God wanted to say to me this morning, the pastor that had been speaking to us began to play "Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)". And when it got to what I consider to be the climax of the song, the chorus. "My chains are gone, I've been set free. My God, my Savior has ransomed me, And like a flood His mercy rains, Unending love, Amazing grace." I began to picture that scene.

I pictured myself captivated in a dark prison cell, with chains bounding me to stay right where I was. But I didn't just picture normal chains that you might use for a dog or something. I pictured thick chains like the ones that might keep an anchor attached to a boat. Heavy, binding, overwhelming, and devastating chains that kept me from being able to move at all. But the significant part of it, is that each link in the chain has a different sin carved into it. Anger, conceit, pride, lust, jealousy, gossip, lying, judging, hate, wrath, selfishness, etc. I pictured the sins literally binding me and weighing me down.

My chains are gone. The melody at the part of the song makes it very easy to imagine the next part of my imaginative scenario. That part is when it goes from singing sweet, soft, and beautiful amazing grace, into somewhat of a blast of a chorus due to the crescendo. My chains are GONE! I'VE BEEN SET FREE! And that's when I pictured a bright light bursting into the prison cell and the chains shattering to pieces around me. And I was free. All of those sins didn't matter anymore. A few lines later it states, "And like a flood his mercy flows." I then pictured a flood of crystal clear waters bursting into the prison and destroying it completely. And then Jesus smiles at me and holds his arms out to me. I run to embrace him, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" And he just says, "It doesn't matter anymore. Those sins are gone. You are free."