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Freedom

             It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Look! I, Paul, tell you that if you have yourselves circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who has himself circumcised, that he is obligated to keep the whole Law. (Galatians 5:1-3)

If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. (James 2:8)

Freedom is a hot topic. Some folks are saying that unless they can choose whether or not to be vaccinated or to wear a mask, they are not free. Others say that unless they can choose (and dictate to others) what pronouns to use to discuss them, and decide what gender they want to be at any given moment, they are not free. Others claim that until everyone treats everyone who is like them in some way in the way they dictate, they aren’t free. As I’ve noted earlier, I have a friend who says that until or unless he can do anything and everything he decides to do (even things that violate laws of nature like gravity) he’s not free.

When Paul wrote this passage about freedom, some people were trying to convince the Galatian Christians that in order to be a Christian, one had to become a Jew and follow the Law. There were others who maintained that because they were free, they could do anything, and were not bound by any laws. These antinomians were rather like that friend who thinks himself not free because he can’t leap tall buildings in a single bound.

The truth of the matter is that like peace, freedom is hard work, partly because we like to make rules while simultaneously rebelling against any rules that are set. When I lost weight, I did it by following rules with which I am still familiar, but I can’t bring myself to free myself from food by being a “food Nazi.” I love an organized and clean household, but I can’t bring myself to put everything in its place – though my current bout of organizational compulsion may make some of that a little easier. At least, I hope to have a place for everything figured out.

What all of this seems to teach me is that freedom is not the absence of laws but is found in the choice of good laws – right laws. Both obeying and disobeying laws have consequences. We’re not free to choose those.

I thank God for the freedom He has granted me so far, and pray that as I go forward through the next year, I’ll become freer to make choices and to live by them and not abuse them.

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