Tag: Galatians

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.

Fruit – Galatians 5:16–26

Galatians 5:16 (NIV)
“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

There’s a tension in the Christian life that doesn’t go away. Paul lays it out plainly here. It’s the pull of the flesh versus the leading of the Spirit.

The contrast is sharp. One produces a list of destructive patterns. The other produces something entirely different—what Paul calls “fruit.” That word matters, because a tree produces the type of fruit that it is supposed to according to its type. A pear tree produces pears, not apples. If we are now God’s, we’ll produce God-type stuff.

And that brings everything back to the opening command: walk by the Spirit. If that’s happening, the outcome follows.

But then Paul raises the stakes. He says those who belong to Christ have “crucified the flesh.” That’s not mild language. It’s not about managing bad habits or trying harder. It’s about a decisive break—treating those old desires as something that no longer has authority.

That’s where this gets practical. It’s easy to say, “I want the fruit of the Spirit in my life.” It’s harder when the moment comes, when impatience, pride, or selfishness shows up and demands to be followed. That’s the exact point where this passage is meant to impact us.

Walking by the Spirit isn’t abstract. It’s a choice, over and over again, to follow His leading instead of defaulting to old instincts. You can’t serve both. One will win in each decision.

So the question today isn’t just what you believe—it’s what you’ll do when that tension shows up. Choose, in that moment, to follow the Spirit—and treat the pull of the flesh as something you no longer obey.