Free from Bondage #43
by Joseph Prescia
I recently watched the movie “Glory” set in 1863 during the Civil War in the not so United States of America. Skin color was a major battle then. In this Hollywood version of a true story a white Colonel had trained his 54th Regiment of black soldiers to fight with great discipline. They respected him for how he believed in them. He gave them a purpose greater than themselves.
There’s a scene at the end of the movie where the Colonel and his men are about to fight their last battle. The Colonel decided that he was not going to fight in a higher position above his soldiers. So he gets off his horse and gets down on foot with the rest of his men. He was one of them. He could relate to their sufferings of slavery and their hope for victory. The men wanted to fight with him because of the love exhibited from the Colonel to his men. They were free to fight for a greater reward, something beyond their lifetime. They knew that there would be lots of blood shed and great loss of life for those on the front line. Yet they saw the goal rather the battle right before their eyes. The Colonel got off his horse, walked through the crowd of soldiers all the way to the front of the line. Love and dignity had motivated these men to fight.
The year of another battle was approximately 27 AD on this same planet earth. This spiritual battle was for all of mankind. The battle was bigger than skin color, it was a war against spiritual evil. This leader taught discipline by controlling the mind to the battle plan. If the battle plan is followed, he said, then genuine success will yield. This leader taught through example. He moved among the crowd, he went down to the valley of human need. When this ultimate battle needed to be fought he did not send men ahead of him, but went to the front line. He stood out there far ahead of all mankind leading the fight so that all could see his example. He taught them to look for things beyond this lifetime, to live life with a greater goal in mind. They were all in bondage. When it was all over he had given his life to free them all. This leader knew that there would be blood shed and great loss of life to make this happen. He told them that since he was the only one qualified he would do it for them all. He died a painful death. The enemy thought that he had defeated this one man. But on the third day after his death God raised him from the dead. This leader was our lord and savior Jesus Christ. The battle plan is the written Word of God.
As a result of this great victory, mankind has grasped dignity because he has been freed from the bondage of sin. God Almighty has seen fit to shed this on all who want it. Love was the motivating force behind these actions and it is now Christ in us the hope of glory! Praise God for giving us the victory through our lord and savior Jesus Christ. |
