Set Free
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2
Free… unbound, unshackled, unconfined, at liberty, untied, unfettered…
I used to have a little dog that liked to go for walks. We would walk around the neighborhood, and he absolutely loved it, his little head would perk up and his feet would prance as we got our exercise. Picking up his leash would send him into an excited spin before he came to me to be put on the leash. Unfortunately, he also had a problem with escaping outside and refusing to come to us when called. Dogs are smart, and on the mornings when the boys and I were planning to spend the day away from home, and were packing lunches, or backpacks for the day, invariably he would try to run outside as the door opened and would gleefully run around the yard in a frenzy, refusing to come back to us. I’m pretty sure he thought it was a fun game we played. One morning, in frustration, I grabbed his leash as I went out the door to try and retrieve him so we could be on time for our activities of the day. When he saw that leash, everything changed… he came running up to me and sat down right in front of me waiting to be hooked up so we could go on a walk. Even though he was already free, he was so accustomed to being put on the leash for daily walks that he came right back and allowed me to put him under my control. It blew my mind that he equated so much joy with being on that leash that the sight of it changed his behavior so drastically.
Aren’t we humans the same way? We get so used to the lesser joy that the world gives us, that we don’t even realize we’re being tied down. Oh, we escape those bonds occasionally, and run into the true freedom of a close communion with the Lord, but it’s so easy for us to get interested in things of this world and wander from that intimate walk with Him. Even as a saved child of God, if we aren’t careful to maintain our prayer life, our study life, and our time of worship, we can find ourselves walking right up to our old master holding the leash and allowing ourselves to be bound by worries that don’t have a place in our lives as Christ followers.
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage Galatians 5:1 NKJV
How do we avoid being caught up in things of the world? How do we maintain that close relationship with Christ? The secret lies within the Word of God. The Bible tells us a lot of things about God’s word: it is sharper than a two edged sword, inspired, profitable, cleansing, enduring… the list goes and on. We all have the ability to hold the very word of God in our hands, and yet so many of us allow it to sit untouched in our homes. We all remember John 8:32 when Jesus said that the truth shall make you free, but if you look at that verse in context, He is actually saying that continuing in His word would show us the truth, and that truth would set us free.
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:31-32
Not only are we to study the Word, we are to allow it seep into us, to change us, to become so affected by it that we begin to live differently. James echoes Jesus’ sermon on the mount and instructs us to be a “doer”. We can become a doer by spending time studying and understanding God’s word, and putting those words into action, not simply allowing them to wash over us without creating a change in our behavior.
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. James 1:25
It seems somewhat illogical that spending a large amount of time studying or reading a book, even the Bible, could change us completely, but if we allow it to, it can. Accompany purposeful time in the Word with prayer and heartfelt worship and you can begin to understand the incredible love story that unfolds in the pages of His story. When you consider that God worked events for thousands of years down to the tiniest detail to create a single document that can be applied to every circumstance and every life. His love for each and every one of us is written into every line. When your eyes are opened to truth of God’s love for us, it will change your life.
