I am a sucker for a good hopelessly romantic movie. In the end, the guy gets the girl, they get married and live happily ever after. Well, at least you anticipate they do. Nothing irritates me more than when these movies end with a wedding. I want to know what comes next! Do they end up uprooting their lives and moving to some foreign country living out a whimsical life on acres of land with a beautiful farm? Or maybe they live in the middle of a vibrant city where their life is filled with culture, and they spend their days at the museum or Broadway shows. Don’t leave me hanging!

The past few days we have been talking about the freedom that we have when we choose to live a life abiding in Christ. This freedom is a gift that is offered to us when Jesus paid the ultimate punishment for the sin that once enslaved us to this world. He did this by, once and for all, dying on the cross and paying the debt we owed for our sin. Our punishment for sin should have been death and an eternity spent separated from God. But instead…Jesus paid it all.

This is why Jesus’ last word on the cross was tetelestai (as mentioned in the day one, the Greek word found in the manuscripts translated as “it is finished” and it means paid in full).

If you have never accepted this gift, I encourage you to stop now and pray. Pray simply confessing to God that you have been living your life as a slave to this world and that you are choosing today to step into freedom. Accepting the gift Jesus has given you through his death on the cross. Then, don’t keep it to yourself! Seek out others who can come alongside you and walk this journey with you! Because we know, life is truly better together!

For all of us, it is so important to understand that while our good and gracious Father has given us this gift and we need only accept it to be freed from our sin, it would be tragic for us to believe that this is the end of the story. This, friends, is merely the beginning!

Much like the love stories in my favorite cheesy romantic movies, we would never believe their story ended with the wedding. This is where their story begins.

The same is true for us in our love story with our Savior.

Christ has not called us to merely accept His freedom, but to be transformed by and continually walk in this freedom. It would be an easy misnomer for us to believe that living in freedom meant living with no bounds, no rules and the freedom to do whatever we please. However, Scripture is quick to teach us this is not the case at all.

Picture a child after a birthday or holiday party. Goodie bags filled to the brim with sugary goodness (also known as a mother’s worst nightmare!). A wise parent would be nearby to give them boundaries with the candy. Otherwise, there is a strong possibility the child would consume so much candy that they would be sick to their stomach.

The same is true of our Heavenly Father. He is a wise and good Father. He understands that a reckless life with no boundaries ultimately would result in a life filled with havoc and destruction. This is not where true freedom lies.

Take a few moments to read through Romans 6:1-23. What stands out to you most in this passage?

This passage starts by telling us, “all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death” (v. 3). Remember, however, that Jesus’ story didn’t end at the grave! He was raised to life and just as we are buried into his death, “we too might walk in newness of life” (v.4). Not only does this identify that sin leads to death and repentance leads to life, but it also denotes that there is a drastic difference between the two.

To live a life that has died to sin and has been set free from the slavery that leads to death means that sin no longer has the power to define who we are.

Did you catch that?

Ladies, don’t miss just how paramount this is! Too often, we, as women, allow ourselves to be defined by our past. The things we have done, the person we have allowed ourselves to be, and the choices we made keep us bound to a life God never intended for us. This was never His plan, and this is not God’s desire for you.

“For the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lived He lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (v.10)

It is time for us to stop allowing the sin in our life to have the power to define us. If you have accepted God’s gracious gift, you are a new creation! The abundance of the life God has for you when you walk as His daughter alive and free in Christ, this is what defines you.

This is where you will find pure joy.

This is where you will find hope.

This is where you will find freedom.

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.” (v. 22)

What sin in your life is still defining who you are?

Now it’s time let go of the control your sin has had on defining who you are. List the truth that God has spoken to you about who He says you are in Him when you walk in freedom.