February 5, 2015--freedom

Galatians 5:2-15
²Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. ³Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. ⁴You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. ⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love. ⁷You were running well; who prevented you from obeying the truth? ⁸Such persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. ⁹A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough. ¹⁰I am confident about you in the Lord that you will not think otherwise. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. ¹¹But my friends, why am I still being persecuted if I am still preaching circumcision? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. ¹²I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves!

¹³For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. ¹⁴For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵If, however, you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

For you were called to freedom!  This is Paul’s proclamation, it is a tenant of our faith.  As American’s, I think we forget this sometimes.  We believe freedom is an American tenant.  I wonder, is the freedom Paul talks about and the freedom we understand as American’s the same type of freedom?
Paul cautions us not to use our freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence—it isn’t freedom that means anything goes, nor  does it mean free to do anything as long as it doesn’t hurt another.  In fact this freedom actually leads us to become servants to each other in love.  We are free to love anyone, everyone. 
We have witnessed the abuse of freedom in church, horrible abuses.  Freedom is a gift but like so many other things, freedom can be abused. 
As we relate and pray with God today, I invite you to think about the freedom in Christ to love.  How will you love?  Confess how you may have abused this freedom?  Commit to loving as God loves, with a hope of righteousness.