The Verdict Is In: The Pardon of God — Monday
Galatians 5:1
Plant your feet firmly therefore within the freedom that Christ has won for us, and do not let yourselves be caught again in the shackles of slavery. (PHILLIPS)
The Shawshank Redemption is a movie released in 1994 and set in the 1950s at a fictional state penitentiary in Maine. The plot primarily revolves around two characters who are inmates navigating the extreme difficulties of life in prison. One subplot of the film involves a character by the name of Brooks, who we learn has been incarcerated for around fifty years. He seems to be a kindly old man who manages to care for a baby bird and runs the prison library. Upon learning the news that he was finally going to be paroled after decades of incarceration, Brooks has a severe breakdown and assaults a fellow inmate in an attempt to remain imprisoned. He gets released from prison and, from time to time, we’re shown how he is dealing with his new life of freedom. Brooks greatly struggles trying to fit in on the outside and clearly longs for the familiarity of captivity he once had. His storyline ends sadly.
We’re in a teaching series at Southland called The Verdict Is In. On Sunday, Jon shared with us the great news about God’s desire and willingness to pardon us. While we deserve punishment, God desires for us instead to walk in an identity that is not defined by our poor choices in the past, but by the decision to repent and receive His forgiveness—a full and complete pardon. But we have an adversary who wants to convince us that we’re too far gone, too defined by who we once were, to ever really be free. Like Brooks, Satan wants us to long for the familiarity of captivity.
This week’s devos will help us embrace our true identity in Jesus. And there’s no better week to do that than this one as we make our way toward the celebration of the empty tomb! Jesus’ resurrection is the ultimate proof that we, too, are free from the law of sin and death!
Monday’s Reflection
Which identity will you embrace today: Satan’s lie that you are a sinner because you sin? Or God’s truth that even though you will sin, you are declared righteous in Christ Jesus?
