Daily Devotions
We're All Slaves to Someone
Reading for February 19: Numbers 30-32
Weekly reading for February 18-24: Romans 6-10
Title: We're All Slaves to Someone
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Romans 6:16
When most people think about Christianity they think of rules and restrictions; they think of the "thou shalts" and the "thou shalt nots." The reason they avoid Christ is because they cherish their freedom.
What they fail to see is that there is no such thing as freedom (in the absolute sense). Everyone is a slave to someone or something. If you live for your own desires, you are a slave to those desires. That may feel like freedom, but you're not free. You are a slave.
Paul wants us to think back to what life was like when we were slaves. "For when you were slaves of sin," Paul says, "you were free in regard to righteousness." (Romans 6:20) Then Paul asks, "what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death." (Romans 6:21) Were we really happy when we lived for our own desires? Were we happy when we suffered broken relationships, heartaches, emptiness, loneliness, physical pain?
Do we really want to go back and serve that master again?
"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:22-23)
Father, thank You for making us truly free!
