I’m having a little conversation with
myself this morning.  The Scriptures
often tell us that through His death, Jesus set us free.  And I ask: 
“Free from what?”

 

I’m just trying to put words to it.  And it’s hard.  Free from what?  My slavery to sin?  I don’t feel particularly enslaved.  My sins don’t seem that awful – a judgmental
thought, a bit of gossip, more time on Facebook than with my husband, an
encouraging card I failed to mail, a stop sign I coasted through.  Small potatoes.  But those are my (constant) failures now that
I’m a follower of Jesus, living in freedom!

 

The conversation continues: “Well,
there were those years when your transgressions were pretty big and pretty real”.  There’s no need to inform the authorities,
but inside of me, I carried guilt and shame around like a heavy ball and chain.  As a church lady, as a Bible teacher, as a
friend, the secret whispered in my ear “You’re not who you pretend to be.  If only they knew….”  I didn’t feel enslaved to the sin, but I was
definitely bound up with unworthiness and doubt.

 

That is what I am free from and what
allows me to live in freedom every day – recognizing that Jesus hung on the
cross for my sin (even my little ones), accepting
His love and forgiveness and letting go
of my guilt.  It helped to reveal myself
to God (as if He didn’t already know) and some trusted friends.  A weight lifted and I felt truly known and
loved.  I have never felt lighter!  I am extremely grateful that forgiveness is
not a one-time event.  I fall short of
His excellence every single day, and His grace is new every morning.  Now that feels like freedom!