“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” ( Gal 5:1).

During the days of slavery once you were captured then you were shackled in chains and bound with fast ropes. A slave was so bound that he only moved with the push of the whip. Even when slaves reached their destinations and were sold to till farms they lived a bound life under the watchful eyes of their oppressive masters.

In some places slaves could earn back freedom from their masters who would write them off as free men and women. You can imagine what a joy it was for any former slave who was now no longer shackled with handcuffs or bound with ropes and could now move freely anywhere. That experience must have been indescribable.

If a slave received his freedom and then moved as though he was still shackled in chains that would be seen as strange. Either the former slave did not believe in his freedom or was ungrateful. Likewise when a beliver in Christ who has received Jesus as a personal savior still lives a bound life of sin and fear then its either a lack of knowledge or a sign of ungratefulness. As the scriptures remind us, “you were bought at a price. May you live a life that totally reflects the freedom you received from Christ!

Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, by your blood you purchased my freedom and set me free, and so I pray to live and experience that total freedom in you, this I pray in Jesus’ name.