Prison Break

"But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ." (Galatians 3:22 NLT)

In this third chapter of Galatians, Paul goes to great lengths to illustrate why freedom in Christ is better than the oppression of the Law.  The Law can only point to our sinfulness.  It can only tell us what we have done wrong.  It can do nothing to correct the problem and provide forgiveness. Only in Christ can our sins be erased and our lives find grace and forgiveness.

For years, Alcatraz was said to be the most "escape proof" prison in the country.  Because it was constructed on a island, there was only one way of escape.  Too far to swim, prisoners could only escape by boat.  Many of course tried to escape through the years but very few ever had success.  In fact, during the 29 years the prison was in operation, 36 attempted to escape, but none were known to survive.  (Five are stilled listed as missing and are presumed to have drowned.)  By all accounts, it was a very secure prison that offered no real hope of escape.  
       Paul writes about a different kind of prison in Galatians 3.  He reminds us that God's Word declares that we are all prisoners of sin and have no way, in our own strength and intellect, of having any hope for escape.  Our sins, our past mistakes, and our failures enslave us and keep us from experiencing the life that God longs for us to know.  But, there is hope...  The promise of freedom comes through only one source, Jesus Christ.  Apart from His grace extended to us through the cross, we have no hope of freedom and no hope of eternal life.  John 8:36 reminds us, "That if the Son sets us free, we shall be free indeed."  A lot of us struggle in prisons of doubt, despair, guilt, loneliness, anxiety, fear, and grief.  But Christ has come to offer us new life, joy, hope, and freedom.  Through our faith in Him, all the barriers and chains that keep us separated from God are removed.  We escape the past to live expectantly in the present.  How long have you been in your private prison?  How long will you choose to stay there?  Christ offers you a better life... a life of freedom.  Put your trust in Him and ask Him to break the chains.  A better life awaits you.

The Evidence We Leave Behind...

My dog Zack is a little ambivalent about Halloween.  He hates the strangers at the door and barks his head off with every “costumed neighbor,” but on the other hand, he loves the stash of candy that lingers around the house for a few days.  He’s smart enough to know that if he is patient enough, and if he will beg sweetly enough with his big, brown eyes, that just maybe he will get a taste of some sweet treat.  His favorite piece of candy is a bite of Tootsie Roll… don’t judge.  I know that’s wrong on many levels.  I discovered recently that he also has a taste for an occasional Tootsie Pop.

A couple of mornings ago, I awoke early and headed to my usual spot in my study.  Underneath my desk, where my dog often rests at my feet while I work, I discovered the following things… a shredded wrapper from a Tootsie Pop along with the remains of the safety stick that once held the candy.  It didn’t take much to put it all together… my dog had eaten an entire Tootsie Pop.  (The fact that he had bits of red candy stuck in the fur around his mouth also tipped me off.)  He might have avoided the guilt of his crime had he not left the evidence behind.

Let’s talk about us.  We do tend to leave a trail, don’t we?  There is evidence, not of candy eaten, but of where we have been, what we have done, and the legacy lived.  So here’s my question… “What does the evidence that you leave behind say about your life?”  When the record of your life is written, what will it reveal?  Is there a trail of kindness offered, grace extended, and forgiveness granted?  Or do we leave evidence of bitterness, anger, and selfishness?  Someone once said, “You can’t leave a legacy if you don’t live a legacy.”  So pay attention to your life.  What messages both verbal and non-verbal do you send to others?  What fruit does your life produce?  Will there be enough evidence to suggest that the Spirit of Christ lived in your heart and governed your days?

I would think that at the end of our lives, the greatest joy we could imagine would be that of knowing that our lives mattered… that we made a difference.  I would also think that the greatest sorrow would be knowing that we didn’t.  Pay attention to the evidence that you leave behind.