It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Galatians 5:1 NIV
In the award-winning movie The Shawshank Redemption, Red has been paroled after serving many years in prison. He gets a job as a bagger in a supermarket as a start to make his way in the world. He’s working but he has one issue that annoys the manager. Red had been “institutionalized.” For years he had no control over many aspects of his life. He was told what to do, where to go, and how he was to do the simplest, most personal things. He did not go to the bathroom on his own. That was regimented just like everything else. Now he has been released from prison. He had the opportunity for a whole new way of life, to toss off that control. But he found he couldn’t. When he had the need to go to the restroom and relieve himself, he didn’t need to ask his boss for permission. He could just “go.” That’s what his new boss wanted him to do. Red honestly explained in one of the movie’s most famous quotes, “I can’t. Forty years I been asking permission, and now I can’t squeeze out a drop without it.”
That describes all of us in one way or another when we come to Christ. Erwin McManus says that when we are saved, there is “nothing ahead of us but life.” That is very true, but he also says, “Most people would rather live in the predictability of captivity than risk the uncertainty that comes in a fight for freedom.” That’s what happened to Red’s friend Brooks. He had been a prisoner for 50 years and could never break free from that way of life. He wanted to break parole so they would send him back, but he didn’t have the stamina for that either, so he just opted out of life and committed suicide.
When we are saved, we have many predictable patterns of decision-making and behavior that leave us prisoners of less-than lives. God doesn’t want that for us. He wants to work so we can live in true freedom with our habits, our money, our “stuff,” our time, our relationships – in every area of life. We must identify the areas where we are still living as prisoners, not making the choices that go with our priceless freedom. Then we must relentlessly persevere in making new choices, breaking those chains. Otherwise, you will live like a slave even though Christ has set you free.
Free is a remarkable way to live. If you are not free, no matter what your image is to the world, your mind and your body knows you are not free. The chains you have in the areas where poor choices still control you will fill you with stress and anxiety. You will never experience the “life that is truly life” (John 10:10) in its fullest form until you consistently choose freedom.
- Identify the old choices, decisions, and ways of life that give you anxiety and keep you a slave. Begin working on a plan with God to change each area. This is working out your salvation.