Scrooge.
That says it all. The story is about a Christmas change of heart that lets us know that all men are capable of redemption. No one is so far gone that he cannot be put back on a right path.
Yet like Marley, Scrooge’s old business partner, we rattle our chains, moan, “Oh, woe is me,” and can’t seem to shuck the problems that weigh us down.
We need to trade in our chains for success in Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 12:15 tells us advice chucks off the chains of foolishness.
“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.”
Proverbs 24:6 says we can find success in our spiritual battles through our church elders, casting off the chains of defeat and finding freedom in Jesus.
“For by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory.”
Psalm 82:3-4 encourages us to help break the chains of those around us by offering our hands to them in their time of struggle.
“Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
Proverbs 15:22 cautions us not to chain ourselves to our plans, but turn to God for direction. If he gives us a new course, we need to stay aligned with him.
“Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 is the chain-releasing party of the millennium. We’ve destroyed the bonds of sin, and we are now victors in our God.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Marley was already deceased, and his chains had become part of who he was. Like Scrooge, we still live. We have the opportunity to trade in our chains for life everlasting. We can become different than we were. Christ died for our sins so that we might receive the gift of salvation through him.
When we quit complaining about life and start campaigning for Christ, we’ll find our success in the shining example of our Lord.
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Code: FGO.I.26.16b.vp.esv