Reading Plan:  

Galatians 5 

Freedom

Author: Jessica Brinson

When I first found out that this week's theme was freedom, I'm not going to lie, a small part of me rolled my eyes. Because of course, the theme of the week of Independence Day is freedom. Another part of me huffed because what in the world am I going to write? What is God saying to me? In my mind, I could simply state, "True freedom comes from Christ." And while that is true, there is a whole lot more to freedom than that.  

And then I read Galatians 5, and as soon as I saw the word circumcision, I tuned out. To be quite honest, verses 2-6 bored me quite a bit. But as the deadline for this was approaching, I realized I needed to buckle in, pray it out, and figure out what God was saying in this passage.  

In verse three, Paul wrote, "Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law." Seems like a strange declaration, right? What does Paul have against circumcision? Well, nothing. But people were being told that in order to be a Christ-follower, they had to follow the Jewish laws, one of which was circumcision. In this part of his letter to the church of Galatia, Paul was reminding them that because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, we have freedom from the law - from religion.  

Religion is a set of rules and laws that must be followed. But it's not just a set of rules that you get to pick and choose. The Law has to be fulfilled completely. No mess-ups. Nothing optional. Does Paul say that we are obligated to obey just some of the Law? The bits that we like and ignore the rest? The ones that come naturally to us? No. Verse three states, "He is obligated to obey the WHOLE Law." Which - I don't know if you know this or not - is impossible.  

When Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross, something miraculous happened. He made a way so that we would no longer be held to an impossible standard. We no longer had to be slaves to the Law. When Jesus fulfilled the Law, freedom in Christ was offered to all, freedom that came with the fruit of the spirit: love. And when we have a relationship with Jesus, that gift is given to us. Then we live for Jesus, not the Law or our flesh, and we can love as our Heavenly Father loves us. Yes, we will stumble. Yes, we will fall into temptation. Yes, our flesh will beg us to go astray, but we've been given the strength of the Holy Spirit and sensitivity to His leading. We can live in true freedom - from the Law, from the flesh, from sin -  through Christ.  

Reflection:  

• This passage reminds me of "Freedom" by Jesus Culture. Listen to the song, read the lyrics, and rejoice in the freedom that God has gifted us with. 

Family Application: Jesus set us free.  

Author: Cooper Herrington

• Free! What comes to mind when you hear that? Do you get excited? Well, I have good news! We are free when we have a relationship with Jesus. Today we are spending time in Galatians chapter 5. The first verse in Galatians 5 tells us that we are free and we are free because Jesus has set us free. Now, you might be wondering how Jesus set us free or what he even set us free from? 
• Jesus set us free from our sins. Galatians tells us that we used to follow our sin and our ways. When we have a relationship with Jesus, we follow Him and His ways. Jesus made a way for us to be free when He lived a sinless life and died on a cross. Jesus chose to die on the cross because He loves you. What do you want to tell God when you hear that He set us free and He loves us? 
• We are free! That is great news! The thing about good news is you want to share it! When you get a new game, score a goal at your soccer game, or get the grade you wanted on a test, you want to tell people about it. The good news is too good to keep to ourselves. The best news in the world is that Jesus loves us and has set us free from our sins. Share with someone today that Jesus loves them and He has set us free from our sins.         
• Prayer: God, You are our Rescuer! Thank You for setting me from my sins. God, help me tell the world the best news ever. Amen.