Thursday, September 12, 2024
For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh but serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another. Galatians 5:13-14
Biting and Devouring One Another
Jesus set us free from our sin and gave us eternal life. Paul is reminding the church in Galatia here that we are not to abuse that grace but use our freedom as an opportunity to serve each other in love. This past Sunday Pastor Jim said that the way we live will be determined by the transformation of our character. If we are truly transformed by Jesus, we will live and love like He does. When we live in the flesh, we bite and devour one another instead of loving each other.
The scripture above says that the whole of the law is fulfilled in one statement: love your neighbor as yourself. I love how the MSG puts it: For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom. Sometimes people think they find freedom in having more – more money, more things, more friends, etc., but Paul seems to be saying that we find freedom in what we give away. We give love away to others and find true freedom. We also find freedom in self-control, not in using our freedom in Christ as an opportunity for the flesh. When we give love away and surrender all to Jesus, we find true freedom.
When we are living in this freedom, walking in the Spirit with Him, we will be serving one another in love. If we are serving one another in love, we will not be biting and devouring one another. When we are transformed by a relationship with Him, we will be outwardly focused – focused on others. When we are walking in the flesh, we will be inwardly focused, only thinking of our selfish desires and serving ourselves, not others. We will bite and devour one another out of selfish ambition.
Before Jesus was crucified and went to heaven, He gave His disciples a new commandment. “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 6:34-35 He wanted them to know that the world would know they were His disciples by the way they loved each other. This is still trueother, the world will believe our actions over our words. If we are walking with Jesus, we will learn to liv for us today. We will be known by our actions. If we say we are a Christian but bite and devour eache and love like He does, loving and serving one another instead of biting and devouring each other.
