SALVATION INCLUDES FREEDOM WITH BOUNDARIES

BIBLE PASSAGE:
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 5:13-15)

MEDITATION:
Paul reminds those who follow Christ that when He saved us, He rescued us 
from being slaves to sin and gave us a new freedom...with restrictions.
The Israelites misused their freedom from bondage 
and were punished by wandering in the desert for forty years.

Instead of being grateful for their newfound freedom, they became 
complainers who felt that 'bondage' was better than 'freedom with restrictions'.
Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? 
It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians 
than to die in the desert!” (Exodus 14:12)
In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 
(Exodus 16:2)

For whatever reason, it seems that when group dynamics are involved, 
the complaints of a few result in the complaints of many.
Of course, we know that joy is hard to find in a group of complainers.
Paul warned the Galatians about negative interactions with each other.
If you bite and devour each other, watch out 
or you will be destroyed by each other. (Galatians 5:15)

How do things like this even happen?
More than likely it stems from a failure to enjoy freedom in Christ 
because we fail to understand that being free includes some boundaries. 
These limitations are not designed to restrict our happiness 
and enjoyment of being free, but they are established to protect us 
from allowing outside influences to damage our freedom.

Paul says that when we exceed the freedom limits, 
it is because we are “indulging in the flesh”.
Just like the Israelites did, we are looking back at our sinful bondage 
as something that provided us with joy and happiness, and forgetting the 
misery that accompanies our selfish desires for fleshly (sinful) pleasures.

Don’t you just love how God’s Word often reminds us of potential problems 
and then provides us with tools for avoiding them?
Paul told the Galatians that instead of looking back 
and indulging in their sinfulness, they should focus on helping each other 
as an instrument for developing humility 
(one of the attributes of Christ which is expected of Christian;
we should have a desire to be like the One we are following).

But Paul doesn’t leave us hanging to figure it out on our own; 
he tells us that love is the virtue that gives us the ability 
to achieve humility, and to enjoy helping others.

And lastly, he helps us to understand 
the magnitude of the love we should have (and it is the same type 
that Jesus told us we should have) – “to love others as we love ourselves”.
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

Sounds like a tall order doesn’t it?
However, we need to remember that whenever the scriptures 
give us instructions, they are not for damaging or restricting our joy, 
but they are for broadening the boundaries of our happiness.

ACTIONS:
Do you feel as though you are missing out on the joy and happiness 
you expected when you surrendered your life to the Lord?
If so, then remember that being a Christian does not mean 
being free without problems, because we live in a sinful world 
where many have refused the Lord’s offer of freedom.
However, it does mean 
you are given the capacity to cope with the problems as they arise.

Also, take a look at how Paul told the Galatians (and you) 
what they should do to enjoy the freedom given to them 
as part of their ‘salvation package’ from the Lord.
First of all 
check the love in your heart – do you love others as you love yourself?
And secondly, is humbleness a virtue that is alive 
and active in you – does it even have a pulse?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I want to enjoy the fullness of my salvation and enjoy 
the peace and joy that are given to those who believe in Your Son, Jesus. 
Forgive me if I have been exceeding the boundaries of the freedom I have 
been given. Help me to consciously make an effort to become a humble 
believer who can love others as I love myself. Remind me that my joy is 
in jeopardy whenever I pursue any portion of the sin that controlled me 
before I was rescued by You. Refresh in me the joy of my salvation when 
I first surrendered my life to You.”

blog: utvolwoody.wordpress.com