I recently read the book, The Choice, by Dr. Edith Eger. Dr. Eger was a prisoner at Auschwitz for over two years and was liberated by the Soviet Army in January 1945. As you can imagine, the description she gives of living conditions and prisoner treatment is harrowing. I was familiar with stories of cruel treatment, starvation, gas showers and other means of execution, but Dr. Eger also talked about the daily verbal abuse she received.
“Today, you will die.”
“You are my prisoner.”
“Dr. Mengele was asking about you.”
“You can’t work … you die.”
And, Dr. Eger saw these things happening every day … deaths from execution, starvation, disease, and prisoners taken to Dr. Mengele, also known as The Angel of Death. So, the prisoners were traumatized. One wrong step, word, or movement and you were shot or taken away. They lived in constant fear, always on alert.
An interesting thing happened on the day the Soviets arrived. Some of the prisoners, despite the evidence of the camp having been deserted by the Germans, didn’t believe the camp was being liberated; and they went back to their barracks. They had been so abused that they didn’t trust freedom and the barracks felt safer. They had to learn to live freely.
The suffering and extermination of the Jews during WWII is the ultimate example of the atrocities man is capable of committing against another human. Unfortunately, there are other instances in past, recent, and even current history that are similar in nature. I use the story of Dr. Eger’s experience only to illustrate that it’s possible to be free while living as a prisoner.
Galatians 3:22 tells us that we are all prisoners of sin. And who among us has not been held captive by lust, greed, anger, gossip, selfishness, haughtiness, etc.? These sins, and others, get a hold on you and can be extremely challenging to shake loose. We become a prisoner to them. And, the more we sin, the tighter the hold becomes. And, it’s true that we can become tormented and abused by the power these sins have over us.
Are you familiar with any of these feelings after failing to keep a promise you made to “do better?”
Embarrassment & Shame
Exhaustion
Fear
Confused & Overwhelmed
Self-Loathing
Guilt
There is good news in 2 Corinthians!
2 Corinthians 3:17-18:
“… the Lord is Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.”
“… And, we are being transformed into his image with every increasing glory which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
Freedom comes from the Lord and those of us who belong to Him are being transformed into His image.
But, 2 Corinthians 4:4-ff:
“The god of this age has blinded the eyes … so that we cannot see the light of the Gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
What should our prayer be? “Open my eyes, please! Sharpen my vision! Cleanse my heart!”
You see, we are free people sitting in a prison cell of sin. The door is open, and we are free to go. But, like the Holocaust prisoners who pitifully sought safety and comfort in their barracks, we must learn how to live in this freedom.
In other words, you don’t have to live like this!
- You are free to get off the treadmill of unhealthy ambition and live peacefully!
- You are free to think the best of others!
- You are free to think before you speak and say only what is helpful for building others up!
- You are free from the pull of pornography!
- You are free from explosions of anger!
- You are free from always being right!
- You are free from negativity and passing judgment on others!
- You are free to have rewarding and healthy relationships with others!
- You are free from the sins that hold you!
- You are free to rest!
The Liberator has come … and He is Jesus!
