#892 – Dragons and Sin

A lot of people are really into dragons.

Whether they belong to Khaleesi, Gringotts or the Lonely Mountain, people are all about dragons.

I’m not really that into dragons. I did an Amazon search for “Dragon statues” and didn’t see anything that I was remotely interested in buying. During my silent prayer time yesterday, though, my mind was filled with dragons.

As I attempted to quiet my thoughts and listen to the Holy Spirit, an image of a dragon came to mind. It was a dragon flying high through the sky, spreading its wings and soaring over a pristine landscape. The dragon’s shadow sped over plains, mountains, swamps and forests as its owner fully embraced what it means to be a dragon.

There was something amiss with the dragon, though. Even though he was soaring through the sky, he was chained to the earth. The chain was very long and he rarely hit its limit, but it was still a chain. Regardless of his perceived freedom, he was still shackled to the earth, a prisoner of whoever had chained him.

And during my silent prayer I realized that I was the dragon and sin was my chain.

Sin gives us a false sense of freedom. Sin makes us feel like we are in control of our actions and our destinies. Sin allows us to do whatever we want, whatever feels good and whatever seems most beneficial in the moment.

The reality, though, is that sin is a chain. Sometimes it feels like a long chain that gives us plenty of latitude. But eventually we will reach the end of the chain and we’ll come crashing back down to earth. Eventually sin and its consequences will catch up to us and drag us down.

Real freedom comes from surrendering our lives to Christ, trading the chain of sin for Jesus’s easy yoke. At times we may long for the “freedom” of the chain, but we need to remember the chain for what it actually is.

Dragons weren’t meant to be chained and we weren’t created for sin.

What helps you remember that sin is a chain?