21/07/2026
For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”(Romans 14:7-9)
“My life is not my own.” This is one of the most fundamental truths in all of Scripture and yet it is perhaps the most difficult for me to accept. I was born and have been raised in a country founded on the principle of individual freedom. A nation whose founding documents proclaim that we hold certain “truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” I have been given incredible opportunities in my lifetime. I’ve had access to excellent education and healthcare. I have never faced discrimination because of my race, gender, or sexual orientation. I come from a stable family with parents who’ve been married for over fifty years who taught me the value of hard work, that nothing worth doing is ever easy. In short, everything in my experience reinforces the notion that life is what I make of it. Success or failure are entirely dependent on my hard work. Personal freedom is fundamental and my personal happiness is an inalienable right.
No wonder I struggle to accept the claim Christ places on my life. According to the Bible, I am never truly free. I am either a slave to sin or a slave to Christ. I am either a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness. I am either a slave to the prince of this world or a slave to the King of kings and Lord of lords. In either case, individual freedom is an illusion. It simply is not real. We are influenced far more than we like to admit. Family of origin issues shape how we see the world. Life experience can make us compassionate or cynical. Success or failure to can lif
26/04/2026