ECIPLESHIP for Passionate Christ-Followers

One of the most memorable statements I’ve heard in quite some time was in response to my question, “What do you have to lose if you give God your everything?” The answer? “My freedom.”

That may not seem so memorable unless you also realize that the guy I was talking with was on the other side of a glass wall and we were talking through a couple of handsets. During his few daily hours of  ”free time”, I came to check up on the inmate to give him some unconditional love and timeless wisdom.

The prisoner’s “freedom statement” highlights the bent of all of humanity — we want to rule our own lives. Even in prison we cling to the last vestiges of freedom we have…the freedom to own our own lives, think what we want to think, do what we want to do (even if it’s in our mind or imagination). We have a sin-induced aversion to letting God be Lord (absolute ruler) of our lives.

When my friend made the freedom statement, I thanked him for his honesty. And then I said, “How much freedom do you have?”

“Not much right now,” he responded.

I clarified, “And you will have even less if you don’t let God fix you. The devil’s intent is to kill, steal, and destroy you…and he’s winning right now.”

Yes — we are all slaves to something. The two big categories are that we are either slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness. Real freedom is found when we are no longer slaves to sin…when Christ has truly set us free. There is no freedom like that freedom. If Christ has set us free, we are free indeed!

Romans 6:16-18 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.