FREEDOM

Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? -

Romans 6:16

Whose slave are you? You may think you are your own person, the master of your own destiny. But in reality, each of us yields or gives ourselves to someone or something.

We are all slaves of someone or something. You are either a slave of God or a slave of sin. What a glory to be a slave of God!

The Bible says in Romans 6:22, "But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life."

This word "slave" was translated from a Greek word that would have been readily understood in that culture.

It referred to a slave who had been bought at the slave market then granted freedom by their new masters. In other words, the master would purchase that slave and then set him or her free.

Slaves who were so thankful to their masters for such a compassionate gesture and wanted to voluntarily serve them would be designated as a "bondslave".

They are slaves by choice. The grateful slave was not a slave for pay or a slave out of fear, but a slave by choice. That is what Paul said he was, and that is also what we ought to be.

Becoming a slave of God has some glorious benefits:

• You are set free from sin. You bear the fruit of holiness (joy, peace, righteousness).

• You receive everlasting life. Whose slave are you? Are you the slave of God or the slave of sin? The choice is up to you.

Prayer: Lord, I yield myself to You as Your bondservant.

Scriptural Reading: Romans 6:15-23