Living in Bondage

“A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.” —John 10:10

Most people I meet today aren’t free, often by their own admission. Many live under a cloud of personal guilt and condemnation. They’re not free to enjoy the grace and love of God.

Many are in bondage to their past. Whether the result of their own failures or that of others, their pasts hang like huge weights around their necks. Others are in bondage to the “fear of man”—gripped by fear of rejection, fear of what people think of them, and a longing for approval. Still others are emotional prisoners, enslaved by worry, fear, anger, depression, and self-pity.

I don’t want to suggest that everybody is a “basket case.” But overall, many Christians are in trouble—the kind that requires more than superficial solutions and remedies.

When we turn to Scripture, we’re reminded that God didn’t intend for it to be this way. We read the words of Jesus in John 10 and know God has something better for us—abundant life.