Freedom Has A Purpose
We are free in Christ. What does that mean?
I’ve been going through Galatians for my devotions the last few weeks and I came to Galatians 5 on the 4th of July. There I read, Galatians 5:13 “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.”
I was trying to understand how my three adopted children who are black might look at the 4th a little differently. I was wondering how I would feel knowing that my country didn’t include me when it was being established. Justice is very important to me and when I opened up my heart and prayed, God blessed me with a changed heart that has less answers and is more teachable.
In his speech, Fredrick Douglass said on July 5th1852, “The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.” These words should give all of us pause to reflect, humble ourselves and cry out to God in repentance.
Paul’s definition of freedom to serve others in love, seems completely different than the freedom of doing whatever we want, individually. In the West we hate being told what to do or think. I react very negatively at the thought of America ever losing any of our freedom to worship or free speech, but a self-centered understanding of freedom is common, dangerous and also goes against the word. Christ saw freedom as an opportunity to serve others. We are called to use our freedom for others.
I am asking that you read Galatians 5:13 a few times, pray and ask the Holy Spirit what He has for you personally through this verse and write it down.
Galatians 5:13 “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.”
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