Jail Break

Me inside a jail cell in Alcatraz.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. --Galatians 5:1

When we become Christians, God sets us free from sin's enslaving power. Because of His Holy Spirit's power in us, we no longer have to submit to our sinful desires or be in prison to our sinful ways. We are free. Christ died for us so that we would be free. He did not die for us to stay in our self-created prisons; He died for our freedom.

Yet even knowing that through Him I am free, I find that it sometimes feels easier or safer to stay within the bars of the cell I've created for myself in my self-destructive habits. I recognize and understand the cell I've created with my bad habits. I may not be happy in it, but I trust it because I know what it will bring me. Freedom is unknown and unfamiliar ground, and I don't always trust that I'll like it there. Even though my experience in freedom has been wonderful, when times get tough and I need God the most, I actually find that I'm more likely to slink back to my prison cell for a taste of the small security that I find within its familiar walls.

Christ desires for us to embrace the freedom that He died for us to have. That is in fact why He died, and it hurts His heart to see us choose our prison cells over freedom. Galatians 5:1 tells us to no longer be burdened by our former slavery. We have a choice to accept Christ's free offering of freedom and leave our old lives behind. He's unlocked the door to our prison cell, we need only to make the effort of stepping out from behind the bars and walking in freedom. We don't have to wait for heaven to take hold of what is promised to us. We are free already, now we just have to live like it.

Posted by Kim at March 23, 2006 07:22 AM