So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. – John 8:36
Before we put our faith in Jesus, we were slaves to sin and unable to escape its powerful hold on us. Too many of us still live as if we are imprisoned by our sin, sorrow and struggles with no way out of the cell that controls and limits us. Too often we let our regrets from the past, imperfections in the present and fears of the future enslave us as if we are helpless and hopeless to do anything about them. Too soon we give up, give in and give out when spiritual victory has already been secured and is almost ready to be seen. Nothing in our story can nullify the Greatest Story Ever Told about the finished work of Jesus Who has won the ultimate triumph over all enemies for us! He. Has. Set. Us. Free. Free to say “no” to sin and “yes” to greater delight in Him. With sin’s power broken, we now have the desire and ability to serve God rather than sin. This does not deny the existence of or seriousness of what we are facing and fighting against both inside and outside of us. Yes, our past may include terrible things we have done. Yes, our present may be filled with setbacks. Yes, our future may find our lives not going the way we hope they will. But Jesus has made amends for our past, makes provision for our present and will make a way for our future until we have been fully delivered from the very presence of sin. We have been released… from shame, from regret, from joylessness, from emptiness, from addictions, from vanity, from futility, from fear, from pride, from lusts, from idolatry, from sin, from death. We are free to be happy in Jesus, and to the degree that we abide in His words and depend upon His Spirit and feel His presence, we will be. No more shackles. No more cages. No more prisons. Walk out of that cell and in faith follow Jesus. Don’t live as if you are still in chains. You have been set free.
