Free Indeed!

"I am told God loves me- and yet the reality of darkness and coldness and emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul. Before the work started, there was so much union, love, faith, trust, prayer, and sacrifice. Did I make a mistake in surrendering blindly to the Call of the Sacred Heart?" - Mother Theresa

When I read this passage of a personal account written by Mother Theresa, a woman who was undeniably dedicated to Christ's work, I was at once... encouraged. This woman, who, inspired by the love of God, had devoted her own life to servanthood for Christ, and still, emptiness? Darkness? Coldness?

How could someone like Mother Theresa at times feel this way when, clearly, the woman was inspired by the Lord to an exponential degree!?! Because of sin. Sin in the sense of a power that works against us. Sin that Paul speaks of in Romans as a law that continues to work against us, but is not us. Sin, as in a force that crouches in the doorway of our thought lives, our hearts, waiting for it's opportunity to spring into action and convince us that it is us who will never attain righteousness.

But scripture let's us know this is not truth, but a lie.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

We know that our old self was crucified with [Christ] so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with [made powerless], that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Romans 6:6-7

Slaves to sin. You see. We were not once just sinners, engulfed in lust, greed, pride, envy, drunkedness, and debauchery, but we were slaves to sin.

slave - slāv/ - noun 1.a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them.

Christ came to set us free from slavery to sin, that we might accept ourselves as loving, peaceful, joyful, beings like our Father. Not only to change our lives, but to share with our children, spouses, brothers, sisters, and even strangers... As followers of Christ, we are sometimes all to eager to accept our sins as who we are, condemning ourselves (we really don't need help from anyone else in this area!) and we forget that we are truly a new creation. Our old selves no longer exist

And while a battle is constantly at war between sin and our flesh, we thank God for his Word that brings us truth and renews our minds to know God's good and perfect will.

John 8:36 (NIV) 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

The difference between the lost and those who know Christ, is that we are no longer forced to obey sin, whose wage is death. Thank you Lord for using me to help set free the captives.