You are United with the Lord

While pondering the writing of this post, I was reminded of the un-dragoning of Eustice in C.S Lewis’ classic tale, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. For those not familiar with this book, Eustice is an arrogant, self-centered boy who finds a dragon’s lair. Greedy for the treasure, he puts on a gold bracelet and then falls asleep. When he wakes up, he has turned into a dragon.  

At first, he enjoys being the biggest and most powerful thing around, but before long, he feels the weight of his loneliness and starts to despair. With Aslan’s help (who represents Jesus), Eustice goes through a painful process of shedding his dragon skin and becomes a boy once again. This “un-dragoning” is an allegory of his conversion. At the end of this scene, Lewis provides wonderful commentary to his readers:

“It would be nice, and fairly nearly true, to say that ‘from that time forth Eustace was a different boy.’ To be strictly accurate, he began to be a different boy. He had relapses. There were still many days when he could be very tiresome. But most of those I shall not notice. The cure had begun.” 

The same could be said of me. I genuinely repented of my sins and put my trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ while in junior high school. By God’s grace and through faith, Jesus became my Savior. I became united with Christ in His crucifixion, death, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-6). I became one with Him in spirit, and as a result, I began to be a different person. 

But soon afterward, I chose to turn down the volume of the Holy Spirit’s voice in my life. He was certainly present and speaking to me, but I tuned Him out. I don’t recommend doing this, but it was my way of operating for a season of my life. It led to many flesh patterns, including unholy sexual practices. These hurt the harmony of my relationship with the Lord and could have caused harm to the intimacy that I would enjoy with my future wife, Stacy, if it weren’t for the grace of God. 

I share this brief testimony for several reasons. First, I experienced that love does, indeed, cover a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). Second, I know from experience that freedom in Christ from fleshly sin patterns, including sexual immorality, is possible through repentance and faith (Romans 6:12-23). And, finally, this freedom is experienced when we trust God at His Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17), walk in step with the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16), and live from our identity in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Specifically, it’s critical that we remember that those of us who are joined to the Lord become one with Him in spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). A lot of times, it’s not that we haven’t heard the truth or even profess to believe the truth; we simply forget the truth and fail to appropriate it in our lives through faith.

Many years ago, I was at a regional pastors’ meeting where we were sharing ideas about how to come alongside people in their sanctification. To be honest, we were lamenting our challenges with each other. Then, a friend and colleague of mine from southwest West Virginia blurted out, “When it comes to sex, people lose their ever lovin’ minds!”

For the fun of it, please re-read that last sentence with your best southern West Virginia drawl—with or without banjos playing in the background.

Now, did you notice what he said? “People lose their ever lovin’ minds!” Well, the truth is that they don’t lose their minds. They still have their minds. But I understand what he was getting at. When it comes to sex, people often lose the battle for their minds and suffer the bondage of lust and unholy bonding with others outside of the sweet, protective boundaries of marriage. This reality spans generations and centuries.

So, how can we come alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ in this area as they grow in sanctification? We can help them remember they’re united with Christ and one with Him in spirit. We can remind them that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. He dwells in them, He is with them, He is for them, and He empowers them to live holy lives! Then we can encourage them to renew their minds and to offer their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God (Romans 12:1-2).

Friends, we know from experience that when we rest in the truth of our union with Christ, freedom and fruitfulness follow. Let’s encourage others to do the same!