“You know there’s more men out there and you know where they are. Find ’em.”
Courtesy of Tri-Star Pictures, 1985
The men and women I have the privilege of working with in area sober living homes remind me of Rambo. In First Blood Part II, John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is a Vietnam veteran who courageously returns to Prisoner of War camps to free other POWs.
The residents I meet are tasting the freedom of life outside of prison walls. They are working on how to walk on the shaky ground of newfound sobriety. Free from the bondage of serving their drug and alcohol addictions, their big question is, “So now what?”
Take Marco, for example. Marco doesn’t want to go back to his old way of life. He had used and abused people and substances. He had damaged relationships with friends and family—some beyond repair. But through the gospel Marco knows that’s not who he is anymore.
Marco eventually graduated from the program and moved out of the sober living home. But he came back—not because he had relapsed, but because he wanted to help free more prisoners. He wanted to use the freedom he’d been given to help others break the cycle of homelessness, drug abuse, and prison.
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”
Galatians 5:13
What about you? You were a slave to the accuser, your secret sins, and the appetites of your flesh. But through Christ, that is not who you are anymore. You have been set free. Like Marco (and Rambo), use your freedom to free more prisoners.