Put On Jesus
September 17, 2008 • By Ed Wrather
09.17.08
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." They answered Him, "We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?" Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. - John 8:31-36.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. - Romans 13:14.
When I was in the sixth grade I had been doing fine, at least I thought I was doing fine, back in the back of the classroom. All of that came to an end one day when Mr. McCall looked back at me and wanted me to answer a question he had written on the blackboard. I had no clue as to what the answer could be although it was not that I didn’t know the answer. It was just that I could not see the words he had written. Because of that I was suddenly transported to the front row for the rest of the year, and soon I was wearing those dreaded things called, eyeglasses. The law of nearsightedness had disrupted my life and learning experience.
Thank God, another law overcame the law of nearsightedness in my life. The law of corrective lenses overcame it. You would think that I would have more freedom to live life without being hindered by glasses. After all, you have to keep them clean, wear them, and it is very hard to swim in them. Actually, I am truly free to live my physical life only if I wear those eyeglasses. When I am wearing my glasses I am free to drive, to read, to see faces clearly and so many other things that would not be possible without them.
In our spiritual lives we are overcome and held captive by sin. But just as glasses are able to overcome nearsightedness so can sin be overcome. To overcome sin, we must put on the Lord Jesus Christ. When we do that we are still slaves; instead of being slaves to sin, we have become slaves of righteousness. Jesus says, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Matthew 11:30)." The yoke of Jesus cancels out and overcomes the sin in our lives. By taking on the yoke of Jesus, we can be free to live life to its utmost. As Jesus says, "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." Only by putting on Jesus can we truly have freedom that brings real life.
Each day we have a choice. We can choose to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, or we can make provision for sin. We can choose life, or we can choose death (Romans 8:5-6). Which will you choose today, and for eternity?
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