Freedom

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves steemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:4 (NASB) Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:4 (HCSB) As I read this verse in a couple of different translations this morning, a thought began to form in my mind. When sin entered this world, it brought with it all sorts of terrible consequences. Many of them are things we live with day in and day out, sometimes without really even thinking about them. The truth is that they all come down to sin. Not necessarily individual sins, but the sin that presses down on this earth like an oppressive blanket, leading the whole planet to ultimate death. The further truth is that Christ came to bear that oppression. All of it. I focus often on the fact that He died for my sins - the things that I've done wrong. But, He took it all upon Himself! Not just the sins, but the nature of sin in this world. When I am told to be anxious for nothing (Phil 4:6), to cast my cares upon Him (1 Pet 5:7), and to take His yoke upon me (Matt 11:29-30), He is reminding me of the fact that He took the entire burden of sin upon Himself. Walking in this dying world is not an easy thing, and if I follow in Christ's footsteps I will suffer while I'm here. But I am challenged to constantly remember that I'm not bound by that suffering. I'm bound to Christ who has already taken it all upon Himself! No wonder Paul called our sufferings light and momentary (2 Cor 4:17)!