I shared this story with my Sunday School class last week. I'm not sure where I heard it and I will likely butcher the retelling, but I'll do my best to get the point across.
There once was a young girl being sold at a slave auction. A kind and wealthy man saw her and had compassion for her, so he purchased her. Once in his possession, the young girl asked what was expected of her. The man told her "You are free to do as you please." The young girl thought about this for a moment and asked,
"Can I go over to that other farm, or down to the river?"
To which the man replied, "Sure you can. You can do as you please."
"What if I want to walk down the road, or go back to my mom? What if I want to eat candy all day? What if I want to go swimming? Can I do that?" the young girl asked.
The man smiled and said. "you are free to do all those things. You are free to do what ever you want."
The young girl was puzzled. "Can I go away? Can I get on a train and travel far away?"
The kind man took her hands in his and said, "Sweetheart. I paid for you. You belong to me. That gives me the right to do with you what I want, and what I want is for you to be free. You are free to do whatever you want."
The young girl wrapped her arms around the kind man's neck and said,
"Then I want to stay with you."
THIS is how I feel about Jesus and I want to fully embrace it. I want to serve Him because He set me free. He gave me the option to do whatever I want, and what I want is to follow and obey the one who loved me enough to pay the price for my freedom.
In Scripture, Christ tells those whose lives He touches to "go and sin no more." I fully believe that this is still His command today. Those who obeyed Him, turned from their sin, gave up their idols, and worshiped Him left His presence rejoicing. So I have to wonder... If we love our sin more than Christ, have we really accepted the gift of Salvation that He offers... or are we like the Rich young Ruler who met Him but rejected Him?
I want to live my life in the freedom that following Christ affords... by choosing to stay within the protective embrace of the one who loves me most.
Big big hugs y'all!
K
PS One thing struck me after I originally set this up to post.... The young girl only appreciated the love behind the freedom the man offered because she understood the hate that motivated her slavery. She understood that she could not have freed herself; that it was only because of him that she was no longer a slave. She understood the enormity of her bondage and she understood the depth of the freedom he offered.
Perhaps the reason many do not accept Christ's gift of salvation is that they do not fully understand the hatred Satan has for them. Perhaps they do not realize the depth of their depravity. Perhaps they are so numb to their bondage that they no longer notice the chains. This is possible. Maybe this is why some refuse to follow Christ; they do not realize that they need Him.
For some who follow Christ... it is all too easy to forget what it was like to be a slave to sin. We simply bask in the freedom offered and forget the soul crushing weight of sin. Perhaps this is why we refuse to let go of some sins. Perhaps we forget what that bondage feels like... or maybe we are so used to the way it feels that we are numb to (or we just accept) the pain sin inflicts on our souls.
Perhaps we were SO weighted down with sin when we met Christ that ANY relief , albeit partial, was enough to make us feel free. If so, what would it feel like to actually let go of all we hold on to and TRULY follow Christ with all we have?
There once was a young girl being sold at a slave auction. A kind and wealthy man saw her and had compassion for her, so he purchased her. Once in his possession, the young girl asked what was expected of her. The man told her "You are free to do as you please." The young girl thought about this for a moment and asked,
"Can I go over to that other farm, or down to the river?"
To which the man replied, "Sure you can. You can do as you please."
"What if I want to walk down the road, or go back to my mom? What if I want to eat candy all day? What if I want to go swimming? Can I do that?" the young girl asked.
The man smiled and said. "you are free to do all those things. You are free to do what ever you want."
The young girl was puzzled. "Can I go away? Can I get on a train and travel far away?"
The kind man took her hands in his and said, "Sweetheart. I paid for you. You belong to me. That gives me the right to do with you what I want, and what I want is for you to be free. You are free to do whatever you want."
The young girl wrapped her arms around the kind man's neck and said,
"Then I want to stay with you."
THIS is how I feel about Jesus and I want to fully embrace it. I want to serve Him because He set me free. He gave me the option to do whatever I want, and what I want is to follow and obey the one who loved me enough to pay the price for my freedom.
In Scripture, Christ tells those whose lives He touches to "go and sin no more." I fully believe that this is still His command today. Those who obeyed Him, turned from their sin, gave up their idols, and worshiped Him left His presence rejoicing. So I have to wonder... If we love our sin more than Christ, have we really accepted the gift of Salvation that He offers... or are we like the Rich young Ruler who met Him but rejected Him?
I want to live my life in the freedom that following Christ affords... by choosing to stay within the protective embrace of the one who loves me most.
Big big hugs y'all!
K
PS One thing struck me after I originally set this up to post.... The young girl only appreciated the love behind the freedom the man offered because she understood the hate that motivated her slavery. She understood that she could not have freed herself; that it was only because of him that she was no longer a slave. She understood the enormity of her bondage and she understood the depth of the freedom he offered.
Perhaps the reason many do not accept Christ's gift of salvation is that they do not fully understand the hatred Satan has for them. Perhaps they do not realize the depth of their depravity. Perhaps they are so numb to their bondage that they no longer notice the chains. This is possible. Maybe this is why some refuse to follow Christ; they do not realize that they need Him.
For some who follow Christ... it is all too easy to forget what it was like to be a slave to sin. We simply bask in the freedom offered and forget the soul crushing weight of sin. Perhaps this is why we refuse to let go of some sins. Perhaps we forget what that bondage feels like... or maybe we are so used to the way it feels that we are numb to (or we just accept) the pain sin inflicts on our souls.
Perhaps we were SO weighted down with sin when we met Christ that ANY relief , albeit partial, was enough to make us feel free. If so, what would it feel like to actually let go of all we hold on to and TRULY follow Christ with all we have?
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