Live Free

“I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness;
   I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
   to be a covenant for the people
   and a light for the Gentiles,
to open eyes that are blind,
   to free captives from prison
   and to

release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness."

Isaiah 42:6-7 

I remember going to a cave as a child with my family.  As part of the tour, we entered this huge cavern, like a great underground cathedral adorned with stalactites and stalagmites reminding me of the pipes of a giant organ, spires rising to meet the darkness and pillars the likes I have never seen in a structure made by man.  Suddenly, the guide warned us that he would turn out the lights so we could get a sense of the total darkness of the cave.  After he flipped the switch, I waited for my eyes to grow accustomed to the blackness, finding some sliver of light with which to pick out shadows around me.  It never happened.  The dark pressed around me like some sort of evil presence, separating me from the world surrounding me and leaving me in utter isolation.  

This is what my life would be like without the Light of the world.    As my Savior, Jesus fills my life with brightness, illuminating my path and spilling over into the lives of those around me. He gives me purpose, meaning and the hope of an eternal future with Him.  With Him I am complete.  And His coming was prophesied hundreds of years before to a nation on the cusp of exile to Babylon.  The people of Judah had fallen away from the Truth and after received many years of painful admonitions and warnings, they needed some good news. They needed some hope.  So God sent the message of a coming Savior who would save the people from their sins, and in so doing, would deliver me from darkness, bondage and isolation.

Blind

Helen Keller suddenly lost her sight and hearing at the age of 19 months as a result of "brain fever," leaving her isolated in a world of darkness and silence.  As she grew, she could neither communicate with those around her or receive any instruction or training about the world in which she lived.  It must have been a frustrating and futile existence. 

Futile, that is until her teacher, Anne Sullivan, entered her life a few months short of her seventh birthday and opened up the world to Helen by teaching her how to communicate and learn with sign language. Her life was never to be the same.  Helen later revealed the real source of her strength. She believed that "Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.*"If I can see all that is around me, yet fail to recognize the One who can save me from my own wretched sinfulness, what good is my sight?  It is better to be physically blind, yet know the Truth.  Jesus came to give sight to those who are blind and cannot, in their own ability, find their way to the Light.  Just as Helen could not have known whether it was day or night, I cannot see my need for Jesus until He opens my eyes to this necessity.  Without Jesus, I am as good as blind and living in the darkness.  But now I have seen a great light, and my life will never be the same.

Imprisoned

I have visited a young women's prison and was struck by the lack of personal freedoms experienced by the inmates.  They do not choose what they wear, when or what they eat, when they sleep or wake, or whom they bunk with.  In doing the crime, they lost their liberties. 

Sin has the same affect on my life.  I am bound to the chains of my fleshly desires, tied down by the strength of their hold on my life.  As a follower of Christ, I have been set free from the power of sin in my life, but many times I cling to it like a comfortable friend, familiar yet destructive.  Until I lift my arms from the shackles Jesus has already released me from, I will never experience true freedom.

As Paul encouraged the believers in Galatia, " It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1)  I am not a prisoner anymore for He has set me free.  It's time I start living like I'm free!

Isolated

As I stood in the utter darkness of that cave as a child, I felt completely alone, separated from my family and the crowd of people that stood around me.  The blackness served it's purpose: seclusion.  Before I knew Jesus, my life was filled with people.  My parents, sisters, friends, neighbors, to list a few.  But I never felt understood.  I would often go to the barn as a preteen and sit on a bail of hay, peering into the compassionate eyes of my faithful black lab, telling her, "You are the only one who understands."  As an awkward adolescent, I felt misunderstood and alone, and strong in the conviction that no one truly cared for me.

Then I met Jesus.  He delivered me from the darkness and promised to always be with me, understanding me as no one else can, giving me a sense of worth and value.  My live has never been the same.

But it is easy to return to those familiar feelings, allowing myself to sink back into the belief that I am alone and in the depths of despair, completely misunderstood and alone.   But as one of the redeemed, I do not belong in the dungeon, isolated as I once was.  I now can always live in the light, even in the darkest of times!

Following Jesus means I can see a great Light, I am free from sin, and I will never be alone.  These are reasons to rejoice this day and every day!

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I will remember that I have been set free and live in such a way to please my Father in heaven.

How do I live like a captive to sin?

Where do I need to step into the light instead of wallowing in the darkness?

* Helen Keller quote from:  http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/h/helen_keller.html#ixzz1iJ1LXT8h