Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:34-36).
I have lived in the Land of Lincoln, a region in Illinois where legends and facts about the 16th president are so intertwined that it’s sometimes difficult to determine all that’s true. But the tales of his life consistently reflect the principles he held.
One account is that he collected all the savings of his meager income as a young lawyer to cast the highest bid at a slave auction. After purchasing the slave, he immediately set her free and told her she could go wherever she wished. She replied to him, “I wish to go with you!”
Such loyalty naturally results from gratitude for being freed from slavery. Similarly, when we have been supernaturally released from slavery to sin by the Son of God, our hearts are freed for loyalty to Him.
Biblical gratitude does not attempt to repay the debt for grace our meager efforts could never offset, but responds in grateful loyalty, going with Jesus wherever he desires to go, to do whatever he requires!
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for removing my chains and setting me free in Christ. Now that I am no longer a slave, fill me with such gratitude for my freedom that my heart is bound to you in loyalty and love!