Tuesday, Feb. 2: Freedom in Forgiveness

As a Christian, have you ever looked around and seen the multitude of people not following the Lord, who appear to be extremely prosperous? Similarly, have you noticed the number of Christians who appear to be heavily burdened? King David surely felt this way. Many of the Psalms written by this king described as “a man after God’s own heart” concerned this subject.


1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
Psalm 37:1-2


Sin would not be such a strong draw to us if there was not pleasure involved, yet a deeper understanding of its draw is that we are slaves to sin.


When Adam sinned, man’s nature became one of sin, and as all of us are his ancestors, we have become the sons of disobedience. That sin nature is apparent when you watch the behavior of a small child. Do they feel a strong desire to always tell the truth? Quite the contrary! That is sin nature that remains with every man, until a special event occurs. That event is the acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior. When that occurs, the chains are gone, instantly! I love the chorus to “Amazing Grace,” an updated version to John Newton’s hymn, written by Chris Tomlin. “My chains are gone. I’ve been set free. My God, my Savior, has ransomed me. And like a flood, His mercy reigns, unending love, amazing grace!”


17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
Romans 6:17-18


One of the stumbling blocks many have as believers is the difficulty in differentiating between earthly prosperity and heavenly prosperity. God’s promises remind us that He will take care of our needs, but that differs greatly from our desires, until those desires become to walk in God’s will. He will feed us, clothe us and fill us with His presence. What more could we ask? Yet when faced with your neighbor’s beautiful house and car, and photos of his expensive vacation, it is easy to question why you don’t have those benefits if you are following the Lord. Why is God blessing my neighbor, who doesn’t even believe in God?


Would you trade places with your neighbor? Would you rather have his earthly gains and his eternal damnation than your earthly provision and heavenly home? Even that action is sin, as God instructs us not to covet in His 10th Commandment. Be content in where He has you, for He is incapable of giving us bad gifts. He already gave us the greatest gift in His Son, who received the death we earned when He carried our sins on Calvary! The ball and chain have been removed and we now can walk in freedom of that heavy burden!