Free To Serve

service - Free to Serve

What I will to do, that I do not practice. Romans 7:15

When we were first married, Teresa needed me to lovingly “give” to her, but it didn’t often happen. I made many apologies and recommitments, but they were short-lived. I identified with the apostle Paul in Romans 7:19: The good I wanted to do, I didn’t do.

My problem was that I wasn’t “free” to serve. Unresolved issues in my own life held me captive in selfish preoccupation. God began a slow but productive liberating work within me, and freedom to serve and give to Teresa followed.

Intimacy involves the freedom to share all of yourself—body, soul, and spirit—with your spouse. A wife needs a husband who is growing in this freedom and who encourages her in this freedom as well.

One aspect of this freedom involves dealing with the “accuser,” who brings accusation and judgment against us. This evil one brings accusations against us such as, “You are a terrible father” and “Would a real Christian do what you just did?” This accuser used the guilt I felt over the wrongs I’d committed toward Teresa and my family to attack my worth and value. This condemnation stole my hope of change, leaving me with feelings of failure as a husband, father, and Christian man.

I’m grateful to report that the Holy Spirit began a miraculous work within me. I still remember the joyous day the Lord seemed to say, “David, I know you have done many things wrong since I first brought you into My kingdom. I want you to realize that when I first saved you, I knew you would sin in these ways. But I chose to save you anyway.”

At that moment I was free from condemnation. And I was also free to serve my wife and family as God wanted me to.

In what specific ways do you need God to free you to serve your spouse and children today?