"There was a little boy visiting for the summer at his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit a target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back, he saw Grandma's pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head, and killed it. He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing. After lunch the next day Grandma said, 'Sally, let's wash the dishes.' But Sally said, 'Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.' Then she whispered to Johnny, 'Remember the duck?', so Johnny did the dishes. Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, 'I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.' Sally just smiled and said, 'Well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help with dinner.' She whispered again, 'Remember the duck?' So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help Grandma. After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's, he finally couldn't stand it any longer. He went to Grandma and confessed that he had killed her pet duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, 'Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing. But because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.' Thought for the day and every day thereafter: Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done -- and the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, debt, fear, hatred, anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, etc.) whatever it is, you need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing, He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you." I saw this on social media and loved the analogy.
The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives you, but He forgets. Hebrews 8: 12, "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." I have a hard time remembering that but I know it is true. I find myself saying, "remember when I did so and so, God." And then I laugh to myself because I think He is saying, "no, Jill, I don't remember that but you keep reminding me!"
We all sin, even those people you think are perfect, sin. Sin is a condition that we all have and act on. Romans 3: 23, "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Sin includes our thoughts, our words, our deeds and the things that motivate us. To be a slave means that someone or something has control over us. If they have control over us we are not free - we are a slave. Apart from Jesus, we are all slaves to sin. Our free will serves either God or Satan. Apart from Jesus, we are not able to escape Satan's bondage. John 8: 34, "Jesus replied, 'Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.'"
Imagine being a slave to a horrible master who was cruel and made you do bad things. One day you were told that someone had paid the price for your freedom and you were no longer a slave. You could be released from that bondage! What a blessing - the greatest gift ever! As a child of God, we have been bought with a price and are no longer slaves to sin. Romans 6: 6, "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—"
Accept the gift of forgiveness and do not be a slave to sin. God already knows what we have done and what we have thought. If we asked forgiveness and repented, He remembers no more! "A believer is at war with his sin. A nonbeliever is a slave to sin."
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