Devotion:
Read Galatians 5:1, 13-14.
In this passage, written to some of the first believers of the Good News in Asia Minor, Paul is reminding them that life in Christ is a life of freedom. He is cautioning these new believers not to be drawn into the slavey of obedience to the Old Testament ritual law as a way to seek salvation. They (and we) are free in Christ! Living in a nation with its government founded on and guaranteeing our rights and freedoms, we can forget just how precious freedom really is. When I worship with inmates in the chapel at Walker State Prison, I am often reminded of the value of freedom. Singing in that chapel is usually lively and heartfelt, but I love it when we sing lines like, “My chains are gone...I’ve been set free!” They belt those lines out with feeling and loud enough to rattle the bars!
But Paul also reminds us in this passage that our freedom is not meant to be used in the wrong way. The Scottish New Testament scholar and writer Dr. William Barclay wrote, “Become a Christian and do whatever you want.” Our first thought might be that Christians are free to indulge in wrongdoing. But Dr. Barclay’s point is that when we become a Christian, our desires change. In Christ we are free to love God and to humbly love our neighbors as ourselves.
Personal Worship Option:
In this first week of Lent, a period of preparation for Easter, give thanks today for the price Jesus paid for our sins. By his death and resurrection, Jesus liberated us from the bondage of sin, and we are free. Celebrate that freedom and humbly seek to use it to serve others in the name of Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment