Today I had a little bit of a slap in the face from Paul in the book of Galatians. (I know, I'm reading backwards in the Bible). the first part of the book of Galatians is a great testimony. It's Paul telling his testimony to the Galatians. He's really sharing it because he feels like the people of Galatia have kind of forgotten where they came from. I'm reading along - great testimony - kind of feels like a campfire time (Remember those? Those were the times that we sat around a fire on Friday night of camp and talked about the ways that God changed our lives that week.) This is the mental picture I'm getting reading the first part of Galatians.

Then, the slap in the face hits. Chapter 5. Very first verse. "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." Woo hoo! (and I meant to put that exclamation point there, JulieMom. Don't you think it belongs? :) . . . It is for freedom that Christ set me free. No longer to be enslaved by the weight of bondage that I was in before. The power of that verse is amazing. Are you getting it? Christ gave me freedom - freedom from things that I felt held by before. He has given me freedom from things like shame and guilt - not the ability to feel guilty when I sin, but the ability to let it go knowing that He frees me from it with His precious blood. He has given me freedom from the bondage of fear and insecurity. It's not that I don't struggle with these things, but the fact of the matter is - He has freed me from this. It's my choice to remain burdened by the yoke of slavery. Paul warns the Galatians - Do not let yourselves be burdened by this yoke of slavery. Don't do it. Don't go backwards. Move forward. Woo hoo.....I can move forward. I don't have to stay put in my bondage like I'm on a treadmill going nowhere. I can take giant leaps in the freedom that He has afforded me.

Then, I read on to verse 13 - "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather serve one another in love". Heavy verse. Yep, I'm free, but I cannot use my freedom to make myself feel better no matter the cost. I am supposed to use my freedom in service to my fellow sisters and brothers in Christ. It is summed up, by Paul, "Love your neighbor". Wa, wa, wa . . . . (that's my woo hoo deflating a little bit). I can access Christ's freedom, but - I need to remember that with my freedom in Christ comes an obligation to serve one another in love. My freedom is Christ is two fold - it is to remind me that I'm His child and that He has given me access to His kingdom - with all its bells and whistles; access to the freedom and grace that He gave me personally at the Cross. My freedom, secondly, gives me the ability to serve others in love. Interesting that it doesn't just say to serve one another - I am to serve one another in love.

Of course, we all know how this chapter ends. It ends with a listing of the fruit of the Spirit. Fruit that comes, I believe, because we have accepted His freedom, His grace, and we are serving one another in love. I never really thought about the first part of the chapter and it's relationship to the ending. It starts with freedom from the yoke of slavery and bondage and ends with what happens to you if you accept that freedom and aren't enslaved by the things that so easily beset you. And truthfully, by you, I mean me. If I accept, deep in my heart, not just in my head, that I have been given full freedom from the yoke of the things that so easily enslaved me before, then I can truly live out the fruit of the Spirit in my life.

So, I go from "woo hoo" to "who me?" to it's all connected. But it starts with accepting His freedom. Again, can my God get any bigger? He is constantly surprising me with these things. I've been a Christian for 10 years now . . . and involved in the Christian life for just about 30 years - you'd think I'd have put this all together. I'm glad I haven't. I feel like a kid in a candy store when I come across these things. (Of course for me, I would prefer to be a kid in the potato chip store . . . salty crunch for me!). My Jehovah is good and gracious and so amazingly wonderful. Great way to start a day.