July 27, 2026
Monday, July 27
Imagine a young woman loves her father, even though he’s an outlaw, even though he’s never done a thing for her, even though everyone, from her mom to her friends tell her to forget all about him. He’s not actually a bad guy, but he’s made some terrible decisions. Early in his adulthood, he got involved with some shady characters who scammed him and took all his money. Then, in an attempt to recover what he’d lost, he put himself in debt to loan sharks. After they began to threaten his family, he got involved in illegal activities to raise money to pay his debts. These crimes put the authorities on his tail. From then on, he lived his entire life on the run, using assumed names, living out of cheap hotels and sketchy apartments, and every decision has made his life worse.
But his daughter loves him, and she’s determined to help him. She decides to study law for that very purpose, and becomes a brilliant attorney. She works for years to help her dad, and in the end, she succeeds. She works out a deal with prosecutors, so that her father’s record is cleared. With his testimony, the thugs who threatened the family are put away for life. She sues the men who conned him in the first place, and wins a huge judgment against them, leaving her dad with more than enough to start a new life: A house in a good neighborhood, clothes, a car. She even uses her connections to line up job interviews for him. And she says, “Dad, now that you have a new life, there is nothing keeping us apart anymore. I want us to have the relationship we should have had all along.”
That’s a great story (and one I completely made up). But just imagine that the man never takes full advantage of his daughter’s gracious intervention. He’s free from prosecution, threats, and debt, but he keeps on living in his sketchy apartment under an assumed name, barely scraping by. He never meets with his daughter, but keeps to himself. Why would he do that? Maybe he’s still ashamed over the mess he’s made of his life and can’t stand to look her in the eye. Maybe he’s gotten used to life in the underworld, and he’s afraid he’s not cut out for respectable, responsible living. Maybe he’s afraid those bad guys will get out of jail and come after him again someday. Either way, you would call his life tragic, a wasted opportunity. He was rescued at high cost to someone who truly loved him, yet he lived like he was still a fugitive.
For me, that’s the tragedy I see in so many Christians today. Many live as if they are on trial. “I’ve gotta make something of myself, I’ve gotta set these kids up for a happy and productive life, I’ve gotta win the approval of others, I’ve gotta get this person to fall in love with me…and if I don’t, I’m nothing.”
Some walk in constant guilt and shame over the things they’ve done, and the things they still feel capable of doing.
Some have fallen so in love with the ways of the world, they just can’t imagine living completely for Christ. They know they can trust Him with their eternal souls, but they don’t trust Him with their earthly happiness.
So many believers have been saved from Hell, but are still living like fugitives and beggars, because they don’t understand the full extent of their deliverance.
We’ve reached Exodus 14, the most famous moment in the Exodus story. In the movies, this is the part that gets the best special effects. It’s referred to and retold in Scripture over and over again, as a picture of salvation. What does this story tell us about what it means to be saved? We’ll see, starting tomorrow.
“Lord, thanks to you, I am free in every way that matters. I am blessed beyond measure. This week, please show me the ways in which I am still living like a slave. In your holy name, amen.”
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Conroe
More from Pastor Jeff at his website: jeffbergerwriting.com
