Keys
Opportunities and Burdens
[Note to listeners: I’m using a new personal computer and different recording and editing resources. Please excuse any glitches.]
Car keys. House keys. Office keys. As adults, our lives are full of keys. At 16, our parents may have handed us car keys, and the freedom and responsibilities of a vehicle. In adulthood, we needed shelter and assumed keys for an apartment or a house. Employees are entrusted with building and office keys. Each key opens opportunities; each is also attached to burdens.
Note about the image. Tucked safely in that little zippered pouch are the keys I surrender as I leave Missouri State University.
My Mysterious Mind
I remember, as a 5th grade student, being envious of my teacher and his huge ring of keys. Wow, I thought, he must really be important to have all those keys! That child’s view has been replaced with an adult’s realization of the responsibilities connected to each key. Possession of each key brought a burden for whatever that key unlocked. My thinking began to shift when I received, and signed for, my first key as an employee. Each key, if not returned upon termination of employment, would result in a penalty.
As an employee of Missouri State University, I have been issued several keys over the course of 24 years. Last year, when I hoped to soon be retiring, I had Key Control run a statement of the keys they had on record for me. Four keys. I knew I had more than that but was relieved they would only want four of them, especially since I still had all four!
In May of this year, I decided to protect those four keys. I was so close to the finish line and didn’t want to lose them in the final stretch! Part of my separation process would require surrendering those four keys. I didn’t want to owe a hefty fee – multiplied by four!
I removed the four keys from my collection of connected keys before traveling to Washington, DC in mid-May. I distinctly remember leaving those four keys, connected by a single ring, on the counter at home. No need to risk losing them in the U.S. Capital or an airport!
In early June I went to my downtown university office and reached into my purse for my keys. Nothing! I dug through my purse in all its hidden pockets. Still nothing! For the first time in 24 years, I was locked out of the building and my office. It was an eerie feeling as I walked the perimeter of the building to find a way to access the interior. I found a door open to the public but was still locked out of the lobby within which my office was located. The administrative assistant wasn’t in her office, and neither was anyone else. I was locked out!
No matter, I thought, the keys are probably on the counter at home where I left them. I searched that counter, my car, and my purse...again. Nothing! I searched my memories of having or using them. I recalled making a trip to my office after returning from DC and before going to Indiana in late May. The keys wouldn’t have been on the counter; they would have been in my purse. But they were gone now!
I pondered what could possibly be the meaning of this. I concluded that losing my keys was a foreshadowing of a time, soon coming, when I would be locked out permanently. I rested in the emotions elicited by that impending future time.
Two weeks before my last official day, I recruited my husband’s help to relocate my office belongings to my new office at Evangel University. I arranged to do so on a day when my former building and access to my office would be open. Evangel had already given me my new keys. My husband and I loaded the pickup with books and office décor and drove the few blocks to my new employer. While unlocking the main door to where my new office was located, an unzipped side pocket of my purse dumped its contents. One of the items was a small business card holder containing some identification. Not wanting to lose that, I unzipped the pouch of my key holder, intending to place the identification cards inside of it. To my surprise, that zippered pouch held my missing keys.
Turns out I had been so concerned about keeping those keys safe that I hid them even from myself. I found them a few days ahead of the deadline to surrender them. This mysterious timing feels important to me. Losing them, even though they weren’t really lost, helped me prepare to let them go.
Keys are connected to responsibilities, making them burdens to carry, much larger than their physical weight. After surrendering keys, we are released from past burdens. New keys can provide portals through which we cross over to new opportunities. Having too many keys brings a heavy set of burdens and can drain our energy. Our lives can be considered through the keys we carry. What are their corresponding opportunities and burdens?
Message of Mystery Acres
When my husband and I first purchased our 17.5 acres of forest we required no keys. We’d pack lawn chairs and a picnic and just park on the side of the private road at the edge of our property. To leave, we’d load up the chairs and our leftovers and drive home.
Now, five years later, we have multiple keys for Mystery Acres. The shed has keys for the garage locks and the side door. The enclosed trailer has a key to its padlock. The tractor has a key, as does our son’s Jeep. The motorhome has several keys, the door, the side compartments, and the ignition. And Cabin #1 also has a key. In five years, we have added six things to which keys are needed.
Before adding all these keys, we were limited in the ways we could enjoy our time in the woods. Now that we have so many keys, we have more opportunities to experience what our property has to offer. We can spend the night, as can others with us. Our grandchildren can have tractor rides. We can do so much more than just host a picnic or take a walk in the forest.
These keys bring more freedom to maximize the value of our property and the opportunity to share it with friends and family. Each key also brings responsibilities. Not only do we have to keep track of these keys, but we also must take care of the things they unlock.
As we develop our land, adding more things requiring keys, I wonder how much is enough. We joke about Cabin #1. Should there be a Cabin #2? Like most humans, we seem driven by the perpetual pursuit of more. More stuff equals more opportunity, and more keys, but it also increases responsibility.
The message of Mystery Acres is to be mindful of our keys. The beauty of the forest doesn’t require keys, just presence. A few keys can increase enjoyment of life, and the forest, but too many keys become a heavy burden.
Ancient Mystery’s Voice
Jesus said: “I have the keys of Hades and of death.” (see Revelation 1, verse 18)
I have a lot of keys, probably too many. How many keys does Jesus have? There are two Bible references to Jesus and keys. Matthew recorded Jesus talking about keys to the kingdom (see Matthew 16:19), which Jesus was giving to His disciples. And John, in his book about the Revelation he was given, documented Jesus talking about another two keys. Specifically, Jesus said He has keys to Hades, or the place of the dead, and keys to death itself. The latter is typically interpreted as has having victory or authority over death.
Jesus didn’t collect keys to houses, storage sheds, vehicles, or buildings. Jesus brought one key with Him, namely the key to the kingdom, which He handed over to His followers. And, from His time walking among us two thousand years ago, He earned two more keys. That’s three keys total.
With the key to Hades, Jesus controls access to the place of the dead. With the key to death, He can rescue people from being dead. Those are some incredibly important keys! I definitely don’t want to be responsible for keeping track of them, let alone using them. Each key I have gives me access to something AND it assigns me the burden of that access. Can you imagine having the keys to death and the place of the dead?
Ancient Mystery’s voice calls to us to seriously consider the keys of death and Hades, keys held in the hands of Jesus. With those keys, Jesus can rescue people from death. I don’t know about you, but that is hard, perhaps impossible, to comprehend. I don’t want the responsibility of such keys, but I do want to have a good relationship with the One who holds those keys. Jesus, please use those keys to rescue me!
Living in Mystery
What does it mean to live in the mystery of keys and their corresponding burdens and opportunities? First, it means taking a sober inventory of your keys. Which keys are in your possession? How many keys do you have? What burdens are carried by each key? What opportunities does each key provide?
Reflecting on your answers, do you have too many keys? If so, which keys can you relinquish in order to improve the overall quality of your life? Keys to vehicles and places distribute your attention and energy. Rightsizing your life is symbolized by the number of keys for which you are responsible. Unlike the naïve view of a child, having numerous keys is not something to envy.
For the keys in your possession, are there ones connected to burdens you no longer need, or want, to carry? Releasing these keys, and their corresponding burdens, might reduce the weight on your shoulders. There is sadness in surrendering my old keys, but there is so much more relief from leaving burdens behind.
Do any of your keys trigger the realization that you are neglecting or missing out on opportunities? Some people enjoy having many vehicles and their matching keys, but one person can only drive one vehicle at a time. We might envy someone who has keys to more than one home, but each person can’t occupy two spaces simultaneously. Along with rightsizing our number of keys, as representing our lives, is the realization that a richer life might be found in less, rather than more.
Living in the mystery of keys also means recognizing that burdens and opportunities are inextricably linked. We love opportunities but they also bring responsibilities. It’s impossible to have one without the other. We can have our cake and eat it, too, but we will have unavoidable consequences. One of the keys to a quality life is to respect our keys. Each opens opportunities, but not without obligations.
As an old mom to young parents, I encourage you to talk with your children about keys and being adults. With increasing maturity will come more keys, and, with them greater opportunities. Those keys will also carry serious commitments. Children, to be well-adjusted, independent adults, need to learn how to manage the burdens and opportunities of keys.
Lastly, the mystery of keys invites contemplation of the access only Jesus can provide with His keys. He alone holds the keys to the place of the dead and to death itself. That burden is His, but the opportunity for freedom because of it is available to each of us.
Keys. Small pieces of metal carry heavy burdens while also providing access to tremendous opportunities. Taking inventory of our keys can be the key to a better quality of life. Having the right number of keys, having the keys we really value, and honoring the responsibilities of each key provides a framework for effective living.
Connecting with Mystery
Dear Lord of All Mystery, I confess to neglecting the keys in my life. Help me know which keys are best for me to keep, and which ones I am wise to release, along with their burdens and opportunities. Show me any neglected keys in my possession, representing misplaced responsibilities. Help me to trust You to guide me in the possession and use of keys. Thank You for holding the keys to my life beyond death. Amen.
Notes from Dr. Mac
If you want to do your own investigation of any of the scriptures I use, I suggest you go to Bible Gateway. This free online version of the Bible allows a search of words or phrases. Various translations can be selected from the old-time language of the King James version to the more modernized language of The Message.
You can find previous posts of my work at my ARCHIVE and organized compilations in the My Books section. You can also find Mystery’s Voice on Spotify.
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