Connected by a String - Martin Wiles

And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. Ephesians 1:13 NLT

No matter where I tossed it, it returned.

In the land before computers, cell phones, and video games—the land I lived in as a child—there were yoyos. I had no income, only the allowance Mom and Dad gave me for doing chores around the house or the money I received from relatives for Christmas or my birthday, but I used what I received to buy yoyos.

Of course, in my mind, no yoyo existed except those imprinted with the name, Duncan. The Imperial and the Butterfly were my favorites. When the string wasn’t twisted, I could toss them down, and they’d return to my hand. Doesn’t seem like much fun now, but it was then.

But a mere toss down and back up didn’t suffice. I needed to know the main tricks, such as “Walking the Dog” and “Around the World.” To walk the dog, the yoyo string had to be completely untwisted. When tossed down, the yoyo would remain in a spinning position until I jerked the string, at which time it would return to my hand. Around the world involved tossing the yoyo around my shoulder as a softball pitcher does when pitching a ball.

The Imperial worked well for these and other tricks, but the Butterfly performed even better. The Butterfly had a wider girth, making it easier to catch when it came back to me. If my slip knot didn’t come undone or the string didn’t break, my yoyos always came back, no matter what trick I performed.

As the string and slipknot connected me to my yoyo, so God’s Spirit connects me to Him. Paul says we’re given—or sealed—with the Spirit the moment we trust Christ as our Savior.

I wasn’t a perfect yoyoer. I often messed up, but if the string held, I could retrieve my wayward yoyo, rewind the string, and toss it again. The same holds true in our walk with God. Sin makes us prone to mess up. Even though God gives us new nature and clothes us in the righteousness of Christ, we still live in an imperfect body and an imperfect world filled with temptations.

The good news is that we can keep going back to God’s hand. The connection will never break, and He will never sever it. Nothing can separate us from God’s love. Although we are not puppets on a string—God gives us free will—He is there for us to run back to when we fall into sin or travel down wayward paths.

When you feel completely unwound or twisted, remember God is there to draw You back to Himself.

Prayer: Father, thank You for never leaving us.

Tweetable: Do you feel unwound and twisted? 

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