“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” Romans 6:22
Often, the thing I feel most enslaved to is my to-do list, and this is never a positive feeling! No-one likes the feeling of being enslaved. We, of course, enjoy a huge amount of freedom compared to many people in the world, but there are still things that we can end up feeling beholden to, people who we feel have too great a hold over us, or bad habits that we just can’t seem to shake (people very rarely complain about being enslaved to a good habit!)
As Christians though, it’s good to remember that Jesus has set us free from the worst kind of slavery, slavery to sin. To pursue our most immediate desires in whatever way seems good to us might feel like freedom in the moment, but often with hindsight we’re able to see how destructive this sort of ‘freedom’ really is. Paradoxically, true freedom is found in slavery to God and freedom from sin. We know that God created us and knows us and saved us, but do we trust that he also knows what’s best for us? Submission to God as our master is not always easy, but it is always good and will produce real fruit – holiness and eternal life.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for setting us free from slavery to sin, and that true freedom is found in slavery to you instead. Help us to grow in holiness, and to look with joy to eternal life with you through Christ. In His name we pray, Amen.
—
Rev Andrew Goddard
Assistant Minister | Youth and Evangelism
stjudesrandwick.org.au
