Today’s reading is Galatians 5.
Picture in your mind a group of slaves under a tyrannical, harsh, cruel master. Their lives from birth have been those of service and obedience to another. They didn’t get to go do what they wanted. They didn’t get to act for their own interests. They had to serve. Then, one day, someone came along and killed their master and killed their master’s descendants. No one would inherit them. The chains were broken. Freedom obtained. Imagine the relief, the joy. What would you do if you were one of those slaves?
The victor then reads a proclamation: “You’re free! Go be slaves to one another!”
Wait! What? But you set us free, didn’t you? Doesn’t freedom mean I get to do what I want without consideration of anything or anyone else? What do you mean go be slaves to each other?
This is exactly what Paul says God has done in Galatians 5:13. Through Jesus Christ on the cross, God has set us free. He has set us free from sin and from Satan. He has set us free from the Law. And that is where the problem comes in. When Paul explains we are set free from the Law, he knows some people will think freedom means freedom to do anything that appeals to me or makes me feel good in this moment.
God, however, has not set us free to serve our own flesh and pleasure. He has set us free to serve one another in love. While I prefer the word “serve,” the word translated here is the same one translated in Galatians 4:9 as “whose slaves you want to be once more.” He has set us free to be slaves to one another.
Of course, this builds on what we discussed yesterday. Circumcision doesn’t count for anything. What counts is faith working through love. But now we know what love. Certainly, we are to love God, but our faith is also to work through love for each other.
Paul concludes this section by saying, “But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.” In the past, I’ve read this as some kind of extreme sin Christians might commit. However, Paul seems to offer this as merely what will happen if we don’t love each other. In other words, there is no middle ground. We can’t claim, “Okay, I mean, I didn’t love my neighbor, but it’s not like I bit and devoured my neighbor.” Actually, if I use my freedom to serve and please my own flesh, I will bite and devour my neighbor. When I do that, we will be destroyed. The only way to avoid this destruction is to love my neighbor.
Freedom is no opportunity for my flesh. It is, however, an opportunity for love. Let us love one another.
Tomorrow’s reading is Galatians 5.
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Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family
- What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
- How can we serve one another love?
- What hinders us from serving one another in love?
- What advice would you give to help us overcome those hindrances and obstacles?
- What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?
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