Recently, in big church, I was given the opportunity to speak—twice!

These moments come once every few months and I usually enjoy being able to have a conversation with the congregation from the stage.

Sunday was a mixed bag of feelings.

It’s not that I didn’t enjoy being able to talk about Jesus. I love to! I guess that’s why I chose to do that full-time. What made it feel weird was that when I was talking about the cage, the room felt so silent.

The analogy of the cage is the fact that there is a life that God wants for us and a ton of things will keep us from it. As I opened the cage, I read some of the things that are keeping us from living God’s intended life for all of us. Here’s a few that I read, but feel free to comment and suggest more.

Lost Connection- the fact that we’re far from God.
Purposelessness- feeling as if our lives have no meaning
Circumstances in life- life craps on us. Sometimes it may be our fault, sometimes it’s not.
Sexual Regrets- addictions and past experiences that wound us.
Guilt and Shame- the refusal of letting things go.
Fear of Man- the fear of what people may think of us.
Pride- I don’t need help
?- the beast in the basement we’re afraid to even name.

The Apostle John quoted Jesus speaking of light and darkness in his gospel. He said that people hate the light and don’t come into the light in fear that their deeds would be exposed. So true. Exposure will often come with a cost.

And maybe it’s a guy thing.

We like to act like we have it together.

We often think that if you don’t have it together, you’re a wuss.

And maybe if we come out and say that we suck at life, people will only point and laugh.

I think you can make the connection here.

That morning many people were able to make the connection. Cages were opened and they began to let Jesus deal with the crap in their lives.

But also, from the silence, I knew that just as many (and if not, more) were held back. Reservations can sometimes imobilize us. Silence can kill.

What is keeping you in the cage?

Do you have a friend who is in the same cage?

It’s good to talk.