Communion #12

It is a sad state of affairs that for so many, Christianity is perceived as a restrictive and oppressive belief system. Including Christians. And yet one of the critical components of the gospel is freedom. It’s one of the many reasons that the gospel means ‘good news’. 

The problem is that these days we don’t recognise how oppressive sin is. Especially in the Western world. We live in relative comfort, but don’t realise that even comfort is oppressive when it provides a resistance to growth. In fact, for the believer comfort is so oppressive that it often robs us of genuine godly abundance. 

Sin, the topic we don’t talk about a great deal, was and will always be an offence to our image-bearing design. Because sin often feels right at the time, we assume it must be right if it serves our immediate purposes. Just like an alcoholic who doesn’t feel right when he or she is sober, and yet the alcohol continues to oppress rather than free them from their many burdens (and indeed add to them). But the truth is, sin is unhealthy for us. Any long term sin, will eventually demonstrate its oppressive nature…unfortunately it is often too late by the time we realise what it is capable of doing. 

Jesus' offering of grace and forgiveness, made it possible for us to be restored to our original design. Grace gives us a choice empowered by the Holy Spirit to reject sin and choose a life of health, without sin. 

The cross is our connection point between being ruled by our most basic desires, or a life where oppression, even the type that is self-imposed within us, will no longer do.