Saved from Self

And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:21 NLT

I remember how exciting it was when I discovered being naughty — when I felt that rush of pleasure that came from getting away with something that I knew that I shouldn’t be doing. It was a rush, it was a thrill. It made me feel in control and empowered in a way that just following the rules simply didn’t.

Yes, my sin, even the temptation to sin for me was pleasurable.

So who would want to be saved from sin if it is pleasurable? This is a valid question that many will ask when they encounter what looks to them to be the “confining rules of religion”. They hear people preaching about this law and that law, and the long list of “what religious people are against” and it’s easy to miss anything lovely or beautiful about “a couple thousand year old story some people wrote down a long time ago”.

But while sin is pleasurable for a season, it always bears a higher cost than the temporary pleasure that it first baited is with. It can wrap its tentacles around us, and before we realize it — is dragging our life down into the dark depths as we slowly suffocate.

It is an age old story that holds true in every life. And at some point, we will need to be saved from ourselves.

Today, I’m not only grateful for the Christmas story, not only grateful for being saved from the consequences of sin, but I’m grateful for having my eyes opened to see sin and temptation for what it is – a thief.

Thank you Jesus for everything.