“For whoever was called in the Lord as a slave is a freed person belonging to the Lord, just as whoever was free when called is a slave of Christ.  You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of human masters.  In whatever condition you were called, brothers and sisters, there remain with God.” ~~ 1 Corinthians 7:22-24

Some of us are slaves to fashion, always having the latest outfits or the newest technology.  That’s not me, but I do like to dress nice, and recently my losing weight has caused me to upgrade my wardrobe every season.  Technology is a different matter, as I like to wait until the market gets penetrated deep enough for the price to drop and the equipment/operating systems to settle their turf wars. It’s not that I am afraid to buy new clothes or make a decision on the technology, I just prefer to wait on the big-ticket items until I am closer to my goal weight and the price/technology wars are settled for a while.  But it’s the times of creative drought that really get to me, and then I feel like a slave living in fear.  Can I top the last artwork? Can I bring my ideas to fruition? Will I make progress or regress? What if no one likes my work well enough to buy it? Then I will be stuck with large artworks and no good place to show them.  And my list of fear/worries is longer by far!

I can imagine many fears, as I have a vivid and creative imagination. When I am bound up in this spirit of fear, I use my creative powers to negative ends by dreaming up negative outcomes if I begin to work! By going away from the work, I clear my mind from thoughts of work (it’s all negative at the moment anyway), and fill my mind and eye with the beauty of God’s nature. After clearing my head of all the “slave to fear” thoughts, I can go back freely and let God open my heart up to pour something positive and worthwhile on my canvas.

In a like manner, as people of faith, we too often live our lives as “slaves of fear” rather than as children of God. we imagine all sorts of dread problems, worry about things God has already taken care of, agonize over sins God has already forgiven, and remember misdeeds God has already forgotten.  No wonder we fail to live in the present as his beloved children! We are too busy remembering and reliving our old lives of slavery! We were bought with a price! We have been set free from the chains of sin and death. Christ gave his life on the cross to give us life and love.  He rose to make us one of God’s adopted sons and daughters. This redemptive gift has made us free for life, love, art, and joy and peace. We are slaves not to sin, but to Christ, for he is our new master.