Tag: Freedom

Freedom? – Galatians 5:13-18

“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.” — Galatians 5:13 (NIV)

Earlier in Galatians 5, Paul is dealing with a real problem in the early church. There were people telling new Christians that following Jesus also meant following all the old Jewish laws and rituals. Paul pushes back hard on that. ‘You have been set free,’ he says. ‘You don’t live under that anymore.’ But then he immediately pumps the brakes on where that logic could go, because freedom from the Law doesn’t mean freedom to live however you want. It means something better than that.

The freedom Paul is talking about has a direction to it. It points outward, toward the people around you. Instead of using your freedom to chase whatever feels good in the moment, you use it to love the people God has put in your life. Radically, humbly, in ways that don’t always make sense to the world around you. That’s the calling. Paul is clear that the Holy Spirit is what produces that kind of love in us. It doesn’t come naturally on its own.

There’s a real tension in this for me personally. On one hand, I know what it means to be freed from sin and given new life. On the other hand, I don’t always live like that freedom has anything to do with the people around me. The call to radical love can feel heavy, or honestly, it can feel intimidating. There are people God puts in my path every single day, and too often I hesitate. Not because I don’t care, but because there’s a quiet fear that gets in the way.

That’s the thing though, fear doesn’t belong to someone who has been set free. Paul isn’t describing a timid, heads-down kind of Christianity. He’s describing people who are so secure in what God has done for them that they can turn around and pour that out on others without worrying about what it costs them. The freedom we have in Christ is actually freedom over that fear too.

So this week I want to keep my eyes open. Not in a forced or awkward way, but just paying attention to the people God has already placed around me and actually engaging with them. The opportunities are probably already there. I just need to stop hesitating and start showing up.

Yoked- Matthew 11:28–30

Matthew 11:28 (NIV)
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

There is more going on in this passage than a simple invitation to rest from slavery-like oppression to the religious Law. When Jesus talks about a “yoke,” He is not just referring to a physical burden. In that culture, a rabbi’s teaching was often described as his “yoke.” It was what you took on when you chose to follow him. So when Jesus tells people to take His yoke, He is not removing all structure or expectation. He is offering a different kind of life under a different kind of teacher.

That matters because the people listening to Him were used to carrying the weight of the Law in a way that felt crushing. It had become something heavy, something that demanded constant effort without relief. Jesus does not tell them to live without direction. He tells them to come under His teaching instead. And what He offers is something completely different. His yoke is easy. His burden is light. Not because there is nothing to follow, but because it is rooted in grace rather than pressure.

That lands in a very real way. It is easy to slip into a mindset where following God becomes constant activity. Doing more. Trying harder. Measuring whether you are doing enough. But that is not what Jesus is calling us into.

He is calling us to Himself first.

There is a difference between working for God and walking with Him. One produces exhaustion. The other produces rest, even when life is demanding. The rest Jesus offers is not the absence of responsibility. It is the presence of Him in the middle of it.

The call here is simple, but not easy. Slow down. Come to Him. Let Him carry what you were never meant to hold on your own.