Galatians 5:1 “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.”
The context of the verse above is freedom from the yoke of the law, but it applies in the same way to the issue of forgiveness. Christ died to set us free. If we remain enslaved, it is because we have chosen to remain so and reject the freedom he offers.
When Bill Clinton first met Nelson Mandela, he said to him: “Mr Mandela, when you were released from prison, I woke up my daughter at 3am. I wanted her to see this historic event. As you marched from the cell block across the yard to the prison gate, the camera focused in on your face. I have never seen such anger, and even hatred, in any man as was expressed on your face at that time. That’s not the Nelson Mandela I see today. What was that all about?” Mr Mandela replied: “I’m surprised that you saw that, and I regret that the cameras caught my anger. As I walked across the courtyard that day I thought to myself, ‘They’ve taken everything from you that matters. Your cause is dead. Your family is gone. Your friends have been killed. Now they’re releasing you, but there’s nothing left for you out there’. And I hated them for what they had taken from me. Then, I sensed an inner voice saying to me, ‘Nelson! For twenty seven years you were their prisoner, but you were always a free man! Don’t allow them to make you into a free man, only to turn you into their prisoner!’”
Is there any person or situation in your life that is keeping you unnecessarily imprisoned, be it to fear, or bitterness or hatred? Jesus came to set you free – and if the Son sets you free, then you will be free indeed! (John 8:36)
Lord God Almighty, I choose to walk free today, and show others the way to freedom in you. Amen!
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