Romans 6:16-18 (ESV)
16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to
anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of
sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17
But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient
from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and,
having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
Have you ever heard of wild parsnips? Unlike regular
parsnips, this one is quite undesirable.
Interestingly enough, the plant is usually found where
disturbances such as road work occurs. The first year it produces a rosette
with a fern-kind of leaf. The following year it produces a beautiful flower
comparable to a yellow Queen Anne's lace.
I can imagine coming close to sniff it, for I enjoy
beautiful flowers. However, the consequences would be far from agreeable. This
plant contains a sap that, once in contact to the skin, as well as exposed to
sunlight, produces severe chemical burns and sores that make poison ivy look
like a piece of cake. These burns and sores can last up to 6 months. No wonder
they consider this plant to be a hazard to tourism!
Who in their right mind would even want to touch it, even
if its flower is so beautiful? We would be instantly enslaved to the
consequences of its sap. Pure torture, don't you think?
The same is true of disease. We become enslaved to the
consequences of illness as well.
It becomes even worse when we dabble in sin. It may look
innocent and attractive at first. "It's only for once," we may think,
but before we know it, we find ourselves enslaved. The more we try to get free,
the more firmly it controls us. How many don't ask themselves why they got into
the sin in the first place, but now it is too late.
The good news is, it's never too late! Unlike the wild
parsnip, there is a solution, and this solution is only provided by the One who
willingly died for us so that we could experience freedom. We have to accept
Him to find that freedom, however. Jesus' reality has to become greater than
the reality of our sin. Only then can we declare, "We have been set
free!" Never to ever return to that bondage!
Dear Lord, thank You for willingly dying for our sins.
Thank You for the freedom we can have because of You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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