New Morning Mercies #27

God’s call to obey is itselfa grace. In this call, he is actively rescuing you from you.

We’re all slaves; the question is, to whom or to what? Everyone is willing to make sacrifices; the question is, to whom or for what? We all follow sets of rules; the question is, whose and for what? We all give our hearts to something; the question is, to whom or to what? We were never hardwired to be free, if by “freedom” we mean an independent, self-sufficient life. We were created by God to be connected to something vastly bigger than ourselves. We were designed to have our lives organized and directed by an agenda that is bigger than our truncated personal desires and goals. We were carefully built by God to have every aspect of our personhood connected to him and his plans for us, and when we reject him, we don’t live autonomously; we replace him with something or someone.

So God in grace doesn’t set you free, because he knows you wouldn’t be free. You and I would quickly enslave ourselves once again. Because sin still lives in our hearts, we’re all slaves going somewhere to happen. And the sad reality is that it doesn’t take much to enslave us again to a person or a thing that begins to function as our replacement messiah. So what does grace offer you? The answer is the world’s most wonderful, heart-satisfying, life-changing, and hope-producing slavery. The one who is the final definition of love, wisdom, mercy, and power makes us his slaves. He who alone is able to give us life enslaves our hearts to him. His absolute rulership over every area of our lives is not a deadening law but a life-giving grace. He is freeing us from our slavery to what is not true and cannot deliver. He is rescuing us from serving what will never give us life. He is protecting us from seeking hope where hope will never be found. It really is true—his call to obey is a tool of his rescuing grace.

He really does know how short-lived our resolve tends to be. He really understands our wandering eyes and our oft-disloyal hearts. So he commands our allegiance so that we will not serve other masters. Paul says it well in Romans 6:22: “But now that you have been set free from sin and have becomes slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.” God’s call to obey doesn’t end your life; it is meant to protect the life that only he can give you.

For further study and encouragement: Romans 5:1–11