Slave No More

Today as I started my day with prayers and readings, I was reading through the Common Prayer: Liturgy for Ordinay Radicals and the thoughts were focused on Harriet Tubman.  She was a slave who fled north to escape the bonds of slavery prior to the Civil War on the rumor she was about to be sold to a different owner.  In her life, she made over 900 journeys into the south to gather other slaves and lead them through the Underground Railroad to Canada.  For those people she lead, she was a tangible witness of what Christ has done for us.  Christ came to the realm of slavery to show people a way to freedom.  The journey of Christ was hard and dangerous.  The difference between His journey and Mrs. Tubman's was that in the end Christ died.  No, Christ had to die to pay for our freedom.  But the life example lived by Mrs. Tubman made me think about what we as followers of Christ need and should be doing today.  

There are many people who are still enslaved.  Some of these people are true slaves (owned and sold as commodities to others).  Other people are enslaved to addictions and powers.  There are still people who need to be freed.  Yes, many are right here in the United States.  We have slaves of all types here.  So, what are we doing to show people that there is freedom in Christ?

I am sure we all can start thinking of different things people are slaves to?  For many the first might be drugs or money.  But there are some more dangerous slavery in the lives of people.  There is a slavery of self doubt.  People have such a low self esteem them a enslaved by others' onion of them.  Others have a slavery to high personal standards.  They expect so much from themselves they never see anything good they have produced or are looking at ways to produce more or better material or ideas.  All of these keep people in a situation where they are owned by some thing or someone else.  What are we doing as followers of Christ to show the freedom that comes from His sacrifice and resurrection? 

On a more personal note, what are you being owned by in your life?  What is controlling you?  If you are not being guided and led by the Holy Spirit, you are owned by something or one else.  At the root of this is the need to be ground in Christ (prayer, Bible reading, and worship).  We need the community to help us.  We need the faithful to hold us accountable.  Who is in charge and owns you?  If you cannot without a doubt say God, I hope you will find the peace that comes through learning to trust in Him with your life.