Jesus came to set the captives free. Of course we’re not in prison, so we figure, he came for the people behind bars, right? But the fact is, there are many different forms of captivity.
I was in a prison cell of depression during high school. And some of my kids have suffered from similar feelings. Our family picture may show us smiling, but we’re probably not going to tell you much about what’s behind those smiles. The older I get, the more I see that most people are struggling to get free in one way or another.
There are those captive to bitterness,
to their bad habits,
to their self-image,
to their poverty,
to their selfishness.
It may be you and it may be me. But it doesn’t need to be that way. Jesus came to set us all free.
And freedom is a wonderful thing! When you get out of your jail cell, you want to do cartwheels and kick up your heels and laugh.
People stay in their cells for a variety of reasons: perhaps they don’t know how to get out, perhaps it seems like too much work to leave. Usually they need a vision for freedom and some encouragement. We need help to get out.
We’re either stuck in some kind of captivity, or we are gloriously free and need to be helping others – walking and growing in our vocation as liberators. A good question to ask ourselves is, “Does anything hold me captive, and if not, am I helping to set others free?”
As the women walk toward the tomb they ask, “Who will roll away the stone?” (
Mark 16:3).
Today you and I face the same question: “Who will roll away the stone of our captivity?”
So good. We’ve been reading a book called, Harnessing Our Emotions. It’s addressing Christians on how we can be held down by our circumstances. How we are affected by others around us. I am most affected by people. I could be having a good day if people are treating me right but if I don’t like they way people are acting, I automatically call it a bad day. I am being held captive by other people’s choices when really I should be joyful in Christ and addressing myself and how I respond to the situation. It’s hard coming out of that which has become a major habit. Thanks again for the confirming word 🙂
I believe that the biggest lie Christians (and myself) are captive to is that concerning our identity. We will act out of what and who we believe we are. If the devil can convince us we are poor, helpless, weak, victims…we will act that way. But these things we were “formerly, but now…” (1 Cor 6:11).
I am a container of Christ…Christ in me, the Hope of glory. I bring His Presence wherever I go, to light the dark world. Just as He set the captives free, that is my mission statement now as well.
I am a captive of religious piety. Unfortunately for years I have often let what “Christians” think of me or my behavior mold me. It didn’t help that we were faithfully attending a very legalistic church for years and years. Now that we are on the other side of that and attending a more “balanced” church, I find that I am becoming more and more disillusioned with the “church” structure as a whole. Don’t get me wrong. I am not dropping out as a Christian, I just don’t understand the full on deception of the modern church. Churches are often becoming “MEGA” both in finances and burden.
People within the “church” are hurting…yet, if you don’t get “involved” with some aspect of the ministry you are just left to your island. Cliques and groups abound. I am not seeing the efficiency of the ministry in the lives of visitors/members/community anymore. I have been a believer for more than 20 years and I am amazed. The world is more evident in churches today than we are evident in the world. How sad.
Some days, I just wanna’ pack my family up and move away to a little mountainside and live out my faith the way I feel led. It is discouraging so many times to go to “church” and feel no real connection to the Lord or his people while in that place. It feels like a popularity contest these days and an entertainment factory. I am very outgoing and very much committed to the Lord’s work, and I have a hard time shaking this “new” church normal.
Thanks again Seth for such a relieving post. I so want to be free!
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