Our Daily Bread: Rom 6:12-18; Luke 12:39-48

Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness.

Paul’s talk of slavery may rub us the wrong way. We would rather not be enslaved to anybody or anything. Yet it is an apt description for the kind of hold sin can have on us. And acquiring the marks of a slave — humility and submission to the Master’s will — is also the starting place for a strong commitment to Christ, one we need in order to keep turning away from our sinful inclinations. Enslavement to sin is miserable, even horrific, as it demands our participation in every sort of vice. But the Lord’s mastery is altogether different. His is the easy yoke, the light burden, for he demands only goodness, justice and virtue.

*For a strong commitment to the Lord, we pray.