Faith is not your "get out of jail free" card

written by Stephan Joubert

Fact: Faith does not happen on your conditions. Faith is a relationship with Christ that happens on his terms (Luke 17). We don't determine the rules of how, where and when we come after Jesus. We are servants, He is the Lord. His wish is our only command! And his direction pointers are clear — discipleship is about self-denial, sacrifice and service! Discipleship is carrying your cross. Discipleship is the life-long route of obedience in the right direction — God's direction! That is why Jesus tells us in Luke 14 to calculate the price of following Him carefully before we declare ourselves his followers.

Fact: Our life route is always the same as that of Jesus. Our route with Christ takes us deeper into the prisons of the world — there where people live as slaves of sin, death, power, poverty, loneliness, and powerlessness. That is where we need to live out and give away the Lord's freedom to other prisoners! We are hope-distributors. Indeed, Jesus gave us the keys to the prison doors (Matthew 16, John 20).

Question: Is your footsteps to be found in the prisons of life? Are you living out the right "get out of jail free" message there? Or have you left the real life long ago? Did you think that faith is only your own "get out of jail free" card? Have some lonely ones or hopeless ones seen a prison door open before them last Thursday or Friday because you were there? Did someone who lost his way taste new life over the weekend because you prayed for him, or gave him a piece of heavenly grace bread free of charge?

A new week lies ahead. This week you can touch at least one other person's life. Go and unlock an eternal prison door before someone else in the Name of Jesus!

Peace

Stephan Joubert