Your Sexual Health & Freedom is Worth the Sacrifice
The story of Aaron Ralston is a powerful one. If you’re not familiar with Aaron’s story, he is the mountain climber who had to cut off his right arm in order to survive a climbing accident. The 2010 documentary “127 hours” tells the story of his fateful experience. He was climbing alone one day in Utah when a boulder fell and wedged his arm against the rock. After two days of being trapped by the boulder and exhausting all other ways of freeing himself, Aaron came to the devastating reality that the only way to survive was to cut off his arm. So he did.
Its a chilling story as much as it is inspirational. It begs the question, “What would you do in similar circumstances?” “Would you be able to cut off your arm in order to live?” For your sake, and the sake of your arm, I hope you’ll never have to find out. But what about other areas of your life? What about when it comes to being trapped by sin? What are you willing to do to break free? That is a much more relevant question. Consider the teaching of Jesus in Mark 9:43 & 47:
“If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out… And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell.”
What Jesus is teaching is that being caught in sin is a real life or death situation, and therefore, whatever measures you need to take to break free are worth it. Yes, you might lose a hand, but you will “enter life.” Sadly, when it comes to sin, especially sexual sin, many people are unwilling to make the necessary sacrifices to break free. The truth is that breaking free from sexual sin requires sacrifice; it requires loss, surrender, giving things up, being vulnerable, dealing with past trauma, not to mention the price of time and money in counseling, support groups, and intensives. In this way breaking free from sexual sin can feel a lot like “cutting off a limb” or “plucking out an eye.” But the point of Jesus’ teaching is not about what is lost, but what is gained; and what is gained from breaking free from sexual sin is everything: you gain freedom,
purity, abundant life, peace, joy, love. You forfeit the world, but gain your soul. What Jesus is saying is that whatever sacrifice you need to make to get free from sin is more than worth it. There is nothing more valuable then walking free in Christ, “for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus our Lord” Romans 6:23.
In an interview during the release of the documentary about his experience, Aaron Ralston describes what he was thinking and feeling the moment he broke his arm to get free from the boulder. He recounts, “The snap of his bones “like, pow!” was a horrifying sound “but to me it was euphoric,” he recalls. “The detachment had already happened in my mind – it’s rubbish, it’s going to kill you, get rid of it, Aaron. It’s an ‘it’. It’s no longer my arm.” Aaron described it as “euphoric.” He was finally free. He was going to live. Aaron is still alive today. He is married and has two children. Do you think he ever regrets cutting off his arm in order to be free? The same is true of sexual sin. You will never regret the process of cutting it out of your life in order to be free. It may be initially painful. You will have to make sacrifices, but it will be worth it. It’s a euphoric experience to realize you’re no longer ensnared by sin. Christ has set you free. So, if you haven’t already, resolve in your heart and mind to today to cut the rubbish of sexual sin out of your life. It’s just a thing, it’s going to kill you. You don’t need it. There is abundant life in Christ just waiting for you.
Ready to get free? The Gateway to Freedom Foundation is here to help. Contact us to learn more about GTFF’s programs and resources. Email gateway@tfcglobal.org or visit tfcglobal.org/gateway.
