Saved to flourish in righteousness
Martha Olawale
“You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the Lord, have created it.” Isaiah 45:8
Saved! That is a word any captive would love to hear. A person held hostage by an enemy looks forward to the day of rescue. Every day in bondage seems longer because it is not home nor the place the prisoner wants to be. How you breathe, think, and move around in freedom is different from when you are in bondage. Everything about you changes when you are rescued from prison; even what and how you eat changes.
If you subscribe to the idea that your gift of salvation is a ticket to ride on the train of ungodliness, you might want to check the fine print. 1 John 3:9 says, “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.” Like a seed in the ground, we might not fully bring forth our fruits of righteousness, but we should continue to grow in it. Essentially, our salvation should produce righteousness, not sin. Our messes and prison meals should become distasteful and uncomfortable, and our new identity should draw us to the Father’s heart.
There must be bondage before freedom and a mess before a cleanup. You are saved from something, not to continue in that thing but to leave it behind. A day of salvation and pardon comes with unlocked chains and a time when the prisoner stands and speaks with renewed strength. God redeems and walks us out of the prison gates. A turning and forsaking occurs with our salvation. Isaiah 55:7 says, “Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”
Why roll in filth when you can sit in a crystal-clear pool? Isaiah 45:8b says, “Let salvation spring up; let righteousness flourish with it.” Salvation is the seed, and the fruit of salvation is righteousness. Who I was before Christ is not who I want to be again. The old me was a confused, unworthy mess, and the new me is a free, beloved daughter of God. We are saved to flourish in righteousness, to crave what our Father loves, and to return to God’s original intent for humanity.
