For freedom You set me freeAnd yes, I am free indeed
You rewrote my name
And shackled my shame
You opened my eyes to see
I am free
I first heard this chorus performed by Shane and Shane at the Explicit Gospel Tour I attended back in April. And the upcoming 4th of July celebrations on Wednesday had no bearing upon finding it this past weekend.
As of late, my Bible readings dwell mainly in 1 Kings/2 Chronicles. Again and again I am reading the complete failures of nearly every king sitting on the thrones of Judah and Israel. Each generation follows the generation before it, often times finding ways to outdo the former in wickedness. Occasionally a relatively "good" king takes the throne only to see faithfulness last as long as he is alive.
And these readings constantly bring the issue of spiritual slavery to mind. All of these men were slaves to their own sin. They lacked the desire and ability to wrestle themselves free from their evil hearts. If we are honest, we confess that we are no different. But as the chorus reminds us, we have been set free by Christ's life, death, and resurrection.
And how do I respond?
Disinterested. Apathetic. Ungrateful. Depressed.
I've never met a slave. But studying history in college reveals a lot about how slaves respond to their freedom. Rejoicing. Excitement. Ecstasy. Gratitude. All to the point of wanting it for others.
Without belittling the grossness of physical slavery, spiritual slavery is in a class by itself. But this is what Christ has delivered us from. He's taken our names as objects of wrath and written them into His Book of Life. Our shame from the sins we have committed and those committed against us are bound forever. We are now enabled to live as we were originally created: for the glory of God and joy of our souls.
How should we respond in any manner apart of sheer jubilation in and worship of our Redeemer?
You rewrote my name
And shackled my shame
You opened my eyes to see
I am free
I first heard this chorus performed by Shane and Shane at the Explicit Gospel Tour I attended back in April. And the upcoming 4th of July celebrations on Wednesday had no bearing upon finding it this past weekend.
As of late, my Bible readings dwell mainly in 1 Kings/2 Chronicles. Again and again I am reading the complete failures of nearly every king sitting on the thrones of Judah and Israel. Each generation follows the generation before it, often times finding ways to outdo the former in wickedness. Occasionally a relatively "good" king takes the throne only to see faithfulness last as long as he is alive.
And these readings constantly bring the issue of spiritual slavery to mind. All of these men were slaves to their own sin. They lacked the desire and ability to wrestle themselves free from their evil hearts. If we are honest, we confess that we are no different. But as the chorus reminds us, we have been set free by Christ's life, death, and resurrection.
And how do I respond?
Disinterested. Apathetic. Ungrateful. Depressed.
I've never met a slave. But studying history in college reveals a lot about how slaves respond to their freedom. Rejoicing. Excitement. Ecstasy. Gratitude. All to the point of wanting it for others.
Without belittling the grossness of physical slavery, spiritual slavery is in a class by itself. But this is what Christ has delivered us from. He's taken our names as objects of wrath and written them into His Book of Life. Our shame from the sins we have committed and those committed against us are bound forever. We are now enabled to live as we were originally created: for the glory of God and joy of our souls.
How should we respond in any manner apart of sheer jubilation in and worship of our Redeemer?
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