When I was nine years old, somebody gave me a cage with a pretty bird inside. I didn’t like to see that poor little bird in a prison like that, so I decided to free her and let her go. But I soon found out it was not that easy. You see, that little bird was born in a cage and all her life was spent in one. Even with the cage’s door opened, she refused to escape! I even took her out of it, but when night came I found her sleeping on the top of the cage. She could not accept her freedom because she was born a captive.
You and I are also born captives. Do you know why?
When God created the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, they were perfectly free from sin. But it wasn’t long before they disobeyed God and brought sin into the world. “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:1212Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (Romans 5:12)). Since then, every person is born a sinner, a captive to sin, and this includes you and me. Fear, unhappiness, illness and death that come to us are some of the terrible results of sin.
One morning we were surprised to find another bird, a male of the same kind, beside the cage. I put him inside the cage with the female and, after a few days, decided to set him free. Impossible! To my surprise, he always came back. It seemed like the love he had for the other bird was bringing him back.
Perhaps you have tried to escape from sin by yourself and, like a bird born a captive, found it impossible. But there is One, the Lord Jesus, who came down from heaven to die for you on the cross and to save you from your sins. He knew what it was to be hungry and thirsty. And He suffered much pain and then death. He understands your feelings, and He loves you. His love for you is so great that He willingly went to Calvary’s cross. There God made Him sin for us. There Jesus suffered the judgment from God towards sin - our sin - so we could be set free from them.
Finally, I decided to take both birds out of the cage. The male would not leave for the love he had for the one that was born in captivity. It was wonderful to watch. After a few turns over the backyard, the two birds flew away together, and I never saw them again. The same love that made the male bird come down to the female’s cage took her out of it forever. Since that day the cage stands empty.
Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. He went up to heaven and wants to set you free from your captivity of sin and take you to His home in heaven. He tells you in Jeremiah 31:33The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. (Jeremiah 31:3), “I have loved [you] with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn [you].” He is waiting for you to accept His loving offer to set you free. “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:3636If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. (John 8:36)).
Will you let Him set you free?
ML-12/24/1995