LIBERTY
When my friend Mark would go out, he'd call his big dog Fritzy into the kitchen and lean an expanding dog gate against the door jamb. Even though the kitchen door was wide open, Fritzy would always stay in there until Mark returned. He explained that the gate had accidentally fallen on Fritzy when he was a puppy, so he was afraid to go anywhere near it.
”But those who set their gaze deeply into the perfecting law of liberty are fascinated by and respond to the truth they hear and are strengthened by it - they experience God's blessing in all that they do!”
James 1:25
Jesus came to set an open door before us, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and to set us free from the bondage of sin and shame and guilt. Even though we've been hurt in the past, we need to step by faith through the open door to experience the life of freedom that He brings.