Use Your Freedom

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“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love” (Galatians 5:13, NLT).

Insight
How are we to use this freedom we have in Christ? Is this freedom given to us as a license to act and behave any way we want? Is it so we can indulge our sinful nature without consequence? Is it God’s way of turning His head and saying… Oh, boys will be boys… and simply overlooking our wrongs? Absolutely not! Paul writes in Romans, “Don’t you realize that you become a slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living” (Romans 6:16, NLT).
Paul challenges us to use our freedom (not to indulge ourselves, but) to “serve one another in love.” The greatest expression of freedom in Christ is to “love your neighbor as yourself” (5:14). We are free to consider others and their needs ahead of our own. WHY… because God has considered our needs and met them in Christ. We can focus on others and be free from the fear of lack. God supplies all of our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
So, the next time the Holy Spirit puts the desire to serve someone in your heart… follow it. Refuse to debate yourself out of it asking all these “What if” questions. God’s got your back. It’s the whole reason He set you free in the first place. Who is in your life that you can serve? Whose your neighbor and are you loving them as yourself… You are free!

Prayer
Father, thank You for setting me free to love and serve others. Open my eyes to the need of those around me. Help me to walk free from the What If’s in the certainty of Your provisions. In Jesus name, AMEN.