Monday, September 9, 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. Galatians 5:13-14
Living In True Freedom
Debt is heavy. If you have ever known financial debt, then you know that the weight of carrying debt around with you every day is crushing. Sin is debt as well and even more crushing than financial debt. Sin debt keeps us from having the relationship with Jesus Christ we are meant to have, the abundant life in freedom He gives, and eternal life with Him forever.
Paul, who wrote Galatians, makes the point over and over again – the Christian life is a life of liberty. Jesus came to set the captives free, not to keep them in bondage or put them in bondage all over again. Often, Christians are seen as people more bound up and hung up than anyone else is.
What does freedom in Christ look like and how does it move us to live faithfully for Him?
Paul is telling them that freedom is the very core of being a Christian. Christ’s shed blood on the cross bought our freedom from the sin debt that we have. That freedom is available for everyone everywhere who believes and follows Him.
Jesus' shed blood has bought our freedom so that we do not have to live in the bondage of sin anymore. We can have abundant life, free from chains, shame, or the weight that comes with sin. We are no longer captive or in debt for the sins we have committed. When we accept His gift of salvation, that debt is wiped away, paid for by His blood. We have Christ, and that means we have eternal life, forgiven completely, totally, and eternally. Being freed from sin allows us to live in what Christ has freed us for - to live and to thrive in a relationship with Him and living in His purpose for our lives.
This freedom also allows us to walk with Him – stepping where He steps. We are free to live and love how He lives and loves and give that to the rest of the world. That is how we live faithfully in the freedom He gives. We walk where He walks and our faith informs every word, action, thought, or deed we have or do. We live and breathe and move in Him every step of the way, glorifying Him, so that others may come to know this freedom as well.
