Many people – too many people - in our community are in bondage. Some are in bondage because of decisions that others made and they had no control over the outcome. Others are in bondage because of their own decisions that resulted from self destructive behaviors. Still others are in bondage and have been there so long that they believe that there is no other option for them than to be in bondage.

In our lesson on today, we will learn that even though you may have come here on today in bondage, you do not have to leave in bondage. Jesus desires to set you free. Freedom is not just for the woman in the Biblical story, freedom is for you.

Over the years, I have discovered that there are several challenges that people face regarding their bondage and subsequent inability to set themselves free. First, many do not know that they are in bondage. This is especially true for those who have been in bondage since they were young, and/or those who have bin inbondage for so long that bondage is the only reality that they can imagine.

For example, it is like the child who does not know that he cannot see well. Therefore, he goes through school missing out on certain information simply because he cannot sufficiently see the work on the board. As a result, his grades are low and he begins to feel that he is not as smart as the other children. His mother takes him to the optometrist, and they discover that there are deficiencies in his vision that necessitates eye glasses. He get his glasses, wears them, and his grades improve dramatically.

For those who are in bondage and do not know it, it is necessary for someone who knows what freedom is to reveal to them that the state in which they are in is not normal. They need someone who knows what freedom is to guide them into living a ice where they are free.

Second, many do not know how to get out of bondage. Consider, it is more difficult for me to go to a place where I have never gone. It is much easier if I go with someone who has been there before. It is much easier because they know the way. Many people who are in bondage do not know ow to get out, and are fearful that if they attempt, they will only make their situation worse. They need someone to walk with them and guide them through their liberation process.

What a blessing it is to know, as we saw in our text, that Jesus will See Us, Speak to Us and Touch Us – providing for us the liberation that we are seeking. In addition, Jesus has called us to be His eyes, mouth and hands in this community. He has called us to see those who are in bondage through eyes of love and compassion – with understanding, rather than through eyes of condemnation and judgment. He has called us to speak words of love and liberation – with understanding, rather than words of criticism and negative evaluation. He has called us to touch with hands of comfort and support – with understanding, rather than hands that further abuse and diminish.

He has called us who know what it is like to be in bondage to see, speak and touch – with understanding, to assist others in being set free.