Freedom to love and serve
by Dianne Eckermann
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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).
These seven selected verses in today’s passage from Galatians 5 share the words free, freedom and love seven times in total before ending with a warning about the consequences of misusing the freedom we have through God’s love.
The number of times the words freedom and love are mentioned suggests a strong correlation between the two. Paul explains freedom not as an opportunity for self-indulgence but as an opportunity for service to others through love. This seems counterintuitive to our world where the phrase, ‘I can do whatever I want as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else’, is an excuse for behaviour that does not care about others, nor does it demonstrate what it is truly like to be free.
Paul emphasises the freedom we all receive through Christ. This freedom is contrasted with those who believe they can be justified through keeping the law, a belief that leads to a life lived without Christ. While the law has its place in showing the will of God, it is faith working through love that sets us free from the pride and self-centredness that would otherwise separate us from God. Freedom is to live a life of faith, working through love and serving others, just as Jesus lived and died for all people.
Living without love, Paul warns, is to live a destructive life where no-one is left unscathed. I recall a documentary about walruses fighting each other with all the power and devastation that sharp-tusked creatures who weigh 1.5 tons can throw at each other. At the end of the battle between the two males, both were left seriously injured. Neither could be called a winner. In the same way, if we do not care for others, we are in danger of a similar outcome.
Humbly serving those who are our neighbours is all the law we need.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit coming to us and blessing us with the freedom to love and serve our neighbours. Amen.
Dianne has worked in varying roles in Lutheran schools and is currently Director of Leadership at Lutheran Education Australia. She lives in the Adelaide Hills with her husband Rob, two dogs, and several kangaroos who visit regularly. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, the company of her children and grandchildren and walking along the River Torrens Linear Park Trail.
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