As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air… (Ephesians 2:2)

You used to live for yourself.

You used to do what you wanted, be who you wanted.

You used to sit on the throne of your own life.

I mean, that’s what you thought.

Paul reminds us that we were never really in charge. That “freedom” that we thought we had was a lie. We served the king of the air, just as surely as if we had been chained. Like inmates in an asylum, we strutted around as if we wore crowns instead of straight jackets.

Toward the end of her life, my grandmother lived in a nursing home. Her dementia caused her to think that she was living on a cruise ship, traveling to exotic places and feasting at the finest tables. We ran with that because…why not? There was no convincing her otherwise, and her fantasy beat her reality by a large margin. Still, it was sad to see someone we loved lost in a lie.

Beloved, you are going to meet people today who are trapped in the lie. They serve the king of the air, though they don’t realize it.

Do not mock.

Do not despise.

Have mercy, even as our Lord has mercy, and remember that you once wore those same chains.

And, but for grace, you would wear them still.

Happy Monday, Beloved.