Staying Free

Scripture – 2 Peter 2:17-22: 17These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. 20If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”

Reflection: One more time, the writer has some devastating words about these false prophets. The heart of the concern is that they are preying on new Christians and leading them away from Christ. They apparently approach people who are still unsure about their new faith, and they use convincing words to take away their freedom in Christ and return them to being slaves of their human nature.

I’ll be very careful as I share the gospel. I’ll encourage new believers to find their way in Christ without showing them what that way should look like. That is, I won’t expect them to do things the way I do things as though that’s the only right way.

I’ll also tend to my own life – making sure my faith stays centered in Christ. Lately, I’ve let a number of things distract me. I’ll let the joy of the Lord come alive again. I’ll let the peace and truth of Christ rule in my heart. I’ll let Him lift me above the distractions and into His vision of ministry and mission.