Imagine for a moment, going into a prison of war camp. You walk down the hall, see the prisoners in their cages, angry that they are not living as they should.
And then you start to tell them how they need to live outside the confines of their prison. "You need to get out more! Stop acting like POWs! Go outside, get some fresh air, take a trip, see the world!"
How would they look at you? How ridiculous is it to try to convince a prisoner of war to live the life of a free person?
Yet, don't we do that when we try to convince the world they need to live the Christian life and accept our values, without first being set free?
Reading Luke today,
"He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." - Luke 4:16-21 (NIV)
Jesus did not come to merely teach morality, Jesus came to set the captives free. Everything else comes after that.
