It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. (Galatians 5:1)
Today I have a confession to make: I have addiction, and I need help. I’m not addicted to a drug, but an anti-drug. Drug addicts can’t stop; I can’t seem to keep going. Drug addicts take one hit and are hooked for life; I miss one day and am stopped for life. My anti-crack addiction has affected every area of my life. But today, I am declaring my freedom in Christ! Will you walk with me? Let me explain . . .
In case you haven’t noticed, it has been about 11 days since I last posted my “daily” devotion. Wanna know what happened? Anti-crack happened! I could tell you that I’ve been going through some stuff, and I might even be able to tell you a sob story that would bring you to tears. Instead, I’d like to simply be real with you: My anti-crack addiction kicked in about two weeks ago, and I’ve been on an 11-day binge. Here’s what happened:
On May 14th I left for Seoul, Korea along with my wife and baby (as well as a few other accompanying team members). I, along with Stephen Beauchamp, was the keynote speaker for the New Philadelphia Churchwide Retreat, which began on Thursday, the 16th of May, and came to a close on Sunday, the 19th of May. I spoke Friday night, Saturday morning, did a preaching seminar on Saturday afternoon, and spoke Sunday morning as well. It was wonderful! God moved in mighty ways. I made a new life-long friend (Stephen Beauchamp: affectionately called “Uncle Steve,” or “the Drunk Uncle” by the members of New Philly). And we just had ourselves a beautiful time!
After the retreat was over, I travelled to Deajeon with my wife and daughter. This is the city that my wife was born in, and we have very close friends there as well (Pastors Tim & Jina Park), who graciously put us up, and showed us the wonderful that God has done for their church and ministry. We were inspired and encouraged, to say the least.
We also visited Sunhee’s biological father. Perhaps in a future post I’ll share the story of Sunhee’s relationship with her dad. It is incredibly moving. He lives in a convalescent home about an hour’s drive from Deajeon, and we have visited him several times in the past couple of years. He has had a major stroke, so he cannot walk, and he can barely speak. He also suffers from dementia, so it is hard to know whether he will recognize us or not. We’ve had visits in which he didn’t know who we were.
But on this visit, he immediately recognized us! When they wheeled him in, he was all smiles. He pointed at Sunhee and smiled so big, as if to say, “Hey, its so good to see you!” And he did the same when he saw me and Alethia. We had a wonderful visit with him, and we both prayed over him, and he prayed along. Sunhee led him to Christ in a previous visit, but I’ll save that story for a future post.
We returned to Seoul with joy. We were tired, but we were very thankful for what God had done, and we were also thankful for the opportunity to spend a couple more days with pastors Christian and Erin Lee, our beloved spiritual son and daughter, who have so graciously hosted us time and again, and have honored us far beyond what we deserve.
All the while, I tried my best to stay current with my blog entries, but during the retreat, I MISSED A DAY.
This is the moment when my anti-crack habit began to work on me. Missing one day for me is like taking one hit of crack. The taste of freedom, freedom from obligation, that sense of complete disregard for the expectations of others (or myself) . . . Its like crack to me. Something inside of me says, You can feel this freedom every day, if you want. Just stop doing whatever you’re doing!
Crack addicts take one hit and are addicted; they come back day after day after day, and they need serious intervention to get them to stop. I miss one day of whatever I’m trying to do faithfully, and I fall off the wagon! So missing that one day of posting a blog-entry was like taking a strong hit of extra-potent anti-crack, and by the time I landed back in sfo and the jetlag set in, my anti-crack addiction was in full-bloom, and . . . I haven’t posted a blog entry in 11 days.
So what’s this got to do with Galatians 5:1? Today I am declaring that Christ has set me free from my anti-crack addiction! In fact, this blog entry is itself a sign of my freedom!
Reading my blog is like following my progress. Will I fall off of the wagon again? Each time I hit “publish” is another day that I’ve been clean. So, please follow my progress, and hold me accountable to walk in freedom from anti-crack! [And I’d like to thank the people who have gently encouraged me to get back on the wagon and keep posting! Your encouragement is invaluable to me!]
Let me ask you a closing question: Do you suffer from a crack addiction (something you can’t seem to stop doing) or an anti-crack addiction (something you can’t seem to keep doing)? Whichever it is, its time to declare your freedom in Christ! In Christ we find both the freedom to continue, and the freedom to stop. Whichever you need today, its available to you in Christ!
