John 8:35

Look at it this way,” Jesus continues. “A slave’s time in his master’s house is limited. On the other hand, a child of the master can stay forever!” John 8:35 EFP 

I had to think about this one for a while, but here goes. This is Jesus’ continuing answer to their assertion they are children of Father Abraham, and thus not slaves in any stretch of the imagination, and thus not in any need of any sort of liberation.

Jesus first tells them a person who lives a life of sin is, by virtue of his choice in lifestyle, a slave to the sin he or she practices. Their sin, in this case, is the sin of unbelief. They are choosing to refuse to believe in spite of ample evidence calling them to place their faith in Him. As slaves to sin, how can they claim to be children of the Father of the Faithful, the one who they claim makes them free. A true child is one who is welcome at any time in the father’s house. A slave cannot lay claim to that privilege. 

Is it possible that there are times when I want to lay claim to the title of child of the king while living a life of bondage, by choosing a life of slavery to sin and rejecting a life of faith? I do not want to be found lacking because of a choice to live in a state of unbelief. A sense of conviction is not enough unless it leads to a choice to change the behavior that brought about the conviction.