In chapter 51 or Isaiah the prophet delivers the word of God regarding the people of Israel exiled in Babylon. The word is put behind you Babylon and all that it means and holds. Now I am pretty sure people will not all of a sudden forget their time in captivity. I am sure people will not simply wipe clean that portion of their mind. So what is the Lord teaching them and us?
Babylon was a place of captivity. When we live captive to someone or something it has a lasting effect on us. Our captivity changes the way we live life, even after we experience freedom. There is a tendency to live as a captive long after the day of freedom has been declared. God is telling Israel and us that we need to put that stuff away. We have been set free by the Redeemer of all the universe. Why then do we continue to live as captives in a free land?
One possibility of captivity is that we begin to believe the only life we can live is that of a prisoner. Another possibility is we are not sure we can function as a free person. The last possibility I will mention is the idea that we come to find comfort in our captivity. We might know we are free. We might know the gates have been opened and new life is available to us, but we know captivity and we know what to expect so we stay there.
God tells us leave that behind. Christ did not come to earth, show us how to live, die on the cross and raise from the grave so we can live as captives. We have been given free, yet we must choose to live free.
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