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Freedom


           It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.  (Galatians 5:1)

            If you were a slave who was freed, would you let someone enslave you? If you were an abused child or spouse who escaped that abuse, would you ever let yourself be abused again? If you were a convict who had served his time, would you let yourself commit a crime that would result in your going back to prison? If you were ever addicted and fought your way to freedom, would you ever let yourself to back to that substance? If you’re like me, you’d like to shout a resounding “No!” but history and research show that we do return.
           When you talk to people, you find that just as many fear success as fear failure. That’s even one of the reasons I am using a pseudonym in my writing, so that if and when she becomes famous, and can still walk down the street unnoticed. No one ever needs to know that the magnificent author is this pathetic bundle of anxiety.
Today’s passage says that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. It’s not to go back to the substances, habits, abuses, and emotions of the past. It’s what Paul says next that grabs my attention this morning: stand firm, then… That’s the same expression he used in Ephesians 6:14, in the midst of his discourse on the armor of God.
           Being free, it would seem, involves constant, unending vigilance. It involves all those things that spiritual warfare involves: righteousness, salvation, truth, peace, faith, and the Word of God. Being free is hard work. Instead of the yoke of slavery, we must take His yoke, and that’s not easy even though it is light. We’re too used to the heavy yoke.
        This is where I am this morning: struggling against even the possibility of good. I’m struggling with guilt because I am spending money and doing things that I have the freedom to do. The solution isn’t to spend and do with wild abandon but to stand firm, and not let allow myself to be shackled so that joy, peace, and freedom lie just beyond my reach. You’d think that would be easy, but I’m having to do some firm standing. It’s a lot easier to be Miss Havisham than it is to be Pip.

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