It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1
I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be spending this month of barbecues, swimming, watermelon, and fireworks right here in the USA. Living outside the country for two years, I have a deeper appreciation for the red, white, and blue buntings on people’s houses, and the explosion of patriotic food, apparel, décor… in every store. I really am proud to be an American and thankful for the abundant privileges I have as a citizen of the USA…paid for by the blood of so many people who believed that freedom is not only worth fighting for but also worth dying for.
Someone else who believed that was Jesus Christ. A man who died a criminal’s death; being brutally beaten, stripped and nailed to a cross, having not been convicted of any crime. He believed that your freedom and mine was worth his life.
Our human nature draws us to sin. We are enticed by the world, the flesh and the devil to do things that we know in our consciences aren’t right. As Paul says in Romans 7: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate to do…For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”
So true, right??? I’m sure you’ve been there just like I have; committing to do the right thing…again. And again. And again. This is exactly what we’re warned against in Galatians 5:1 where Paul writes, “do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery.” The work of Jesus Christ on the cross set us free from the bondage to our human nature and to sin. And after he was resurrected and went back to heaven, we were given the gift of his Spirit in us. This spirit does not and will not force us to make right choices, or keep us from returning to the familiar chains of our favorite sins, but when relied on every single day, this spirit will give us the ability to live out the freedom that Christ gifted to us through his death.
We are free! We are free to live without fear or condemnation. We are free from guilt and the pain that comes along with it.
Imagine a person who has been enslaved against her will for as long as she can remember and with no end in sight. Now imagine that one day her chains fall off and the doors open. She is free. Unexpectedly. Miraculously. Imagine the way that she would approach life after that moment; the gratitude that would exude from her in her freedom, and the excitement she would have to start each new day, knowing she never has to go back to that place.
She is me. She is you.
Don’t go back to that place. Don’t be enticed by momentary pleasure or attractive lies. You are free because of Jesus.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1
Blessings, Elly
