Galatians 5.1 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. – St. Paul
What is the price of freedom and what does freedom do for
us? It is hard to think about the entirety of culture mankind has built up over
the centuries. It is hard to think about the issues and isms we humans have fought for, and even shed blood over, because
we thought it was the right thing to do. So, what does freedom, really give us?
Freedom, gives us God. It is unimaginable what the world
would look like had Adam and Eve never sinned. But now, since they did, it is
better to imagine what the world will look like in the days to come when God
restores all that. But that world comes at a cost, and that world will truly be
a world set free.
In Paul’s writings, he dealt (largely) with grace versus law. Grace is freeing, law
is slavery. But Paul also informed us that since we will all be slaves to
something, then we should consider being slaves to freedom. And freedom, he
insists, comes only from Christ.
Specifically, in Galatians, the church was being
assaulted by those who would put forth that true obedience to Christ comes only
from a mixture of faith, but also, obedience to the Mosaic Law. Nothing, he
claims, could be farther from the truth. The freedom of faith is the grace to
love God and love others and if there is a law to be followed it is simply
this: faith expressing itself through
love (Galatians 5.6).
We don’t need a law to command us to love, but we do need
grace to free us to. And grace, no matter what we think it to be, always boils
down to this: favor and friendship from God freely given to us as we are right
now, not as we become by following rules. Law is inflexible. Grace is fluid. Law
demands, grace frees. Look at what we’ve become by following the rules…
Our problem, perhaps, is our fear of grace. Sometimes, I
take my dog out on a walk (which she truly loves to do) and I don’t attach the
leash to her collar. She gets all weird about it. She keeps looking at me as if
to say, Is this right!? She is so
used to the leash that freedom from it sorta freaks her out. I spend way more
time encouraging her off the leash
than I do yanking her on the leash when she decides to be a dog and stop to
smell the smells. We are not dogs, but we do understand “leashes”; Law is leash.
Dogs were not designed for leashes; we were not designed
for law. We were designed for freedom and the laws we’ve created have bound us
from that freedom. So, Paul rejoices by saying: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free; in other words, you
don’t need a leash to guide you other than the leash of love. Love for God and
love for others.
Too simplistic? Too naïve? Too fanciful? Too
unbelievable? It is unimaginable what the world would look like had Adam and
Eve never sinned; but it is precisely to that world Jesus is leading us – off the
leash.
Father, sometimes
we are so used to our sins, our rules, and our slavery that we cannot imagine
what true freedom would look like. Yet Your servant said that is precisely
where You are leading those who believe. It is for freedom, that Christ has set
us free. May I learn to walk in freedom. May I learn to love at depths I’ve
never considered. By Your Spirit lead me in love this day – to Your glory and
because of Your grace, amen.
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