In the early 1970s, Dow Chemical Company came out with a new product named Dow Bathroom Cleaner (later sold to S.C. Johnson and re-branded “Scrubbing Bubbles”). With this amazing new product came a popular television advertising campaign featuring a gang of anthropomorphized bubbles with chainsaw-sounding engines and whirling scrub-brushes for feet. As a young lad, these creative ads were among my favorite television commercials. The head bubble (later named “Scrubby”) led his pack of scrubbing bubbles around the filthy bath tub, leaving a sparkling white porcelain finish in his wake, as he proudly proclaimed “What power!! What power!!” These commercials were completely mesmerizing.
As a young girl, my wife, in a similar reaction to my own, was also captivated by these commercials. She recently shared an adorable anecdote with me wherein she got into a bit of trouble with her mother, because she exhausted an entire can of the expensive Dow Bathroom Cleaner while trying to clean the bath tub. She repeatedly sprayed the tub with the magical foam, each time waiting for Scrubby and his gang to appear and clean the tub. What power!! What power!! Scrubby never came, and she was left with disappointment, an empty spray can, a dirty tub, and trouble with her mother.
As I smiled at this endearing story, feeling a bit sorry for my wife and her dashed expectations, I began to think about the hollow promises sin makes, and how readily we accept these deceptions as reality. We accept darkness as light, lies as truth, restriction as freedom, poverty as plenty. Have you ever considered that in the beginning, there was complete freedom with only one, single exception? Total freedom! Everything was accessible to Adam and Eve. There was only one exception. It is never God’s will to box us in and restrict us. He wants to protect us from believing the lies. He wants to free us from the restrictions lies bring, and the chains with which they bind us.
My favorite (seeming) redundancy in scripture is the beginning of Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” That’s a beautiful truth. Paul finishes his thought in this way,”Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Be free my friends. Be free in Christ!
Victoriously in Christ!
– damon
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