last friday i caught royston tan's 12 lotus with cindy. i thought it was a pretty great movie - well-directed and thought provoking.
the story revolves around a getai singer whose past experiences of being abused and used by the men in her life (dad and boyfriend) follow her into the present and continue to haunt her. she's trapped in a cycle of fear and paranoia, unable to step out of the confines of her flat, her safety zone . she's constantly afraid and trapped within her personal fears and perceptions of what is going on. in her mind, the memory of abandonment and gang rape are constantly replayed. and despite physically advancing to the present day, she is still very much enslaved in her past.
perhaps this is a bit of a long shot, but a few days after the movie (read: today) i started thinking about how we are sometimes shackled in our own dirty little pasts.
i don't know about you, but sometimes memories of what i've done come back and haunt me. and i wonder if you, like me have been unable to forget mistakes you've made. and the thought of your very misdeed replays over and over in your mind, like a cd on loop, like a cassette tape that never runs out of tape. the guilt grips you, paralyses you. you begin to see your flaws in the worst possible light, and you let them define you. you get discouraged and you start sinking.
and it's when such a situation happens, that you forget something of great importance.
have you forgotten that Jesus set you free from the shackles of sin when He was nailed to a cross, and bleeding from his hands and feet, a crown of thorns upon His head, and with vinegar to sting his open wounds offered to Him, took His last breath and said, "Father, forgive them for they know now what they do"?
have you forgotten that because Christ's precious blood was shed, it cleansed you from your misdeeds, you are no longer a slave to your past and He has forgiven you of every tiny little mistake that you made?
galatians 5:1 says "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
what are you enslaved to? what do you perceive yourself to be trapped in, trapped by? what haunts you?
i remember the lead character in 12 lotus, and how she was trapped in her past. and i know i have been there as well. yet at the same time, while she was helplessly and haplessly trapped in a miserable cycle of haunting memories, i walk free. i dance away because i know that Jesus' blood has saved me and released me from the past that previously handcuffed me.
all you need to do is say yes to Him.
will you do that and let Him take that heavy burden off your back?
will you do that and allow Him to give you strength to face tomorrow?
will you let Him take over Your life and release you from the past that imprisons you in the present?
all you need to do is run to Him and tell Him you're willing to let go.
let go, let Him.
