An African king once had unjustly seized a white man and put him in prison. To make sure he didn’t escape, he had heavy chains attached to his feet.
After some months had gone by, the weary prisoner was allowed to leave his cell though still loaded with his chains.
One day another white man discovered him, but he was too closely watched by the king’s guards to give the prisoner any help; however, he got permission to give him a book. The prisoner was much disappointed. He did not care much for books, so he threw the book aside and forgot all about it.
Three years went by. Then one day he thought about the book and took it up to amuse himself. As he was holding it, he felt something hard under the cover. Quickly he pulled it open, and what should he find but a file — the very thing he had wished for so long!
Without losing a moment, he started off to the forest where he could not be seen, and there hour after hour he filed away diligently at his chains. At last one day, to his great joy, they fell off from him, and he succeeded in making his escape. His only regret was that he had been so long in making use of the gift, and neglected the means of his deliverance for those three long years.
Is there anything we have neglected?
Have we neglected the Holy Scriptures? Perhaps for long years the old Book Mother gave us has been unopened—the book she made us promise to read. Alas, it has too often lain covered with dust and neglected while we were the servants of sin!
Faith in Christ and in His work of redemption on the cross will deliver us from our chains of sin. Those chains may be very strong and heavy, and we may be hardly able to move, but like the chains gave way before the prisoner’s file, so when we by faith see that Jesus has taken our place on the cross and died for our sins, then the power of Satan is broken. For faith brings in the power of God, our fetters are broken, our sins are gone, and we are free—forever! We can go on our way rejoicing in Christ’s salvation and in the glorious liberty of the children of God. O what a Saviour!
ML-01/08/1978