For just as you presented the parts of your bodies as slaves to impurity
and to lawlessness for lawlessness,
so now present them as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness.
But what profit did you get then
from the things of which you are now ashamed?
The Jews in Saint John's Gospel loftily disagreed with Jesus when he suggested that they were slaves of sin. "We are children of Abraham and have never been anyone's slaves!" they insisted. They would not be slaves of sin or God or anyone else!
But he insisted they were oblivious to the obvious. I remember a fellow who always wanted the last word of any conversation, and especially if there was some disagreement. One time I watched him argue with another fellow who also insisted on having the last word. They engaged in a comical duel of last words that went on and on for several minutes. Neither could give up, neither could just let it go. The rest of the party went silent for a few minutes; and, with winks and nods, laughed at them and their sorry plight.
The worse kind of slavery, and most common, is to one's own self: "I want and must have what I want because I want it." It comes in as many forms as there are human beings, but is best recognized by its obsessiveness, irrationality, and its subtlety. It is not difficult to see it in others, but it takes a divine revelation to see it in myself. I have to be willing, and I am usually not.
Only a lifetime of practical grace -- that is, grace that is requested, received, and practiced persistently -- can set us free from that absurd, unnecessary bondage. And when we learn to live freely it will seem perfectly natural, as if, "Why would I think or feel or act otherwise?"
Others might recognize it in us, but they'll usually just take it for granted, as when children assume their parents are endlessly resourceful and generous. Why would we act any differently? We've all heard many stories of heroic interventions followed by the hero's insistence that they did nothing unusual. "Anyone would have done the same thing!" they insist. And they're right, but they're wrong because many people didn't.
Freedom begins when I present my body to the Lord as a slave to righteousness for sanctification.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.