Freedom From Our Greatest Burden
I recently started rucking as a way to get exercise. Rucking is simply walking with a weighted backpack. It has its roots in military training and is a great way to get a good cardio workout, build strength, and not put the same stress on you body that you would by running. I have really enjoyed it. It is a good way to get outside, push myself, but also focus on my surroundings and what’s going on in my heart by thinking and praying that I wouldn’t have the capacity to do if I was running.
For all the enjoyment I experience, it is work. It’s walking around with a significant burden on your back. It is especially tough when you’re hiking up hills. It is the same experience every time for me. I put on the pack and immediately notice the added weight, then over the course of the ruck even though its tough, I get used to it. However, when I take the pack off, I feel a sense of relief because the burden is off. I then experience what it feels like to walk without the burden slowing me down.
It reminds me of scripture’s warnings about the weight of sin and also causes me to celebrate the salvation I have in Jesus. I celebrate because while Jesus has freed me from the guilt of sin, he also promises to free me from the burden of sin, progressively from its power in this life, and ultimately from its presence at His return to make all things new.
I’m primarily referring here to the process known as sanctification, our progressive conformity to the image of Christ, where we see sin’s power over us broken as we cooperate with God’s grace through faith and “keep in step” with the leading of the Spirit (Gal. 5:25). This is a process where we are called to be intentional and actively participate in our growth. This is our part in walking out the tension of the Christian life we see in Philippians 2:12-13:
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
God by His grace is actively at work in us, supplying us with new desires to please Him (to will) and power and endurance we could never muster on our own (to work). However, we are called to participate with focus and appropriate seriousness (fear and trembling) in that grace and act on those new desires and the power he graciously provides by responding in faith. Our faith is not in ourselves, but in Christ. He is our hope of glory (Col. 1:27).
Sin is an incredible burden in our lives. The author of Hebrews exhorted the church to flee from it. He shared many examples of God’s people who persevered through incredible difficulty by living the life of faith and trusting God and His promises. He works his way from Abel all the way through various characters of the Old Testament. In closing, he reminds them of the danger of sin and encourages them to persevere, not by looking to themselves, but to Jesus:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weigh, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.“- Hebrews 12:1-2
Sin here is pictured as weight that clings closely and hinders us. It’s like my ruck pack in a sense, but there is a major difference. Wearing my ruck leads to an hour of mild discomfort at most. Sin leads to misery, ruin, and death, both in this age and the one to come. It entangles people, it hardens hearts, it destroys lives. Most importantly, it is rebellious treason against God, arrogantly choosing our own path and denying His goodness and rule over our lives. So, it is not something to be played around with, coddled, or excused. The bad news is that it is a burden we could never remove on our own. It’s a burden that would crush us and leave us beyond hope. But God. God has acted in Jesus to rescue a people from sin, from its penalty, its power, and its presence. This is why in their battle with sin, the author of Hebrews reminds the church to look to Jesus, who for their sake endured the cross, rose again, and has seated Himself victoriously at the right hand of the Father.
We are called to do the same, look to Jesus. It’s in Him that we find forgiveness for our sins, power to walk in a new way of life that bears fruit for God, and receive hope that the day is coming where He returns, makes all things new, and sin will be no more for those who love Him.
The good news for us is that He is the master of removing the burden of sin. Hear his invitation to us all:
” Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”- Matthew 11:28-30