“Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)
God created you and me. He created us to be free. His desire for His creation has always to be free from anything that may distract us from fulfilling the purpose for which we exist.
However, many times, even those who profess to follow Jesus allow the things of this world to enslave us. I include myself in this. Perhaps like you, I can be tempted and lured to even supposed “good things” that may be enough of draw that I like it more than I like following Christ.
In Galatians 5:1 it says, “Christ has liberated us to be free.” How did He liberate us? Through the death and resurrection of Jesus. He broke and conquered sin so that we are no longer walking in spiritual death. Because God made us, freedom is in following God as our Lord and Master.
You may wonder the following: “If I am beholden to Jesus, am I really free? Did I not just transfer my slavery from myself and my own ways to Christ?” Yes, this is exactly right. Because God made you and me, we were made for Him. All of us need to come to that place in our lives where we say, “I do not want to walk in the way of how most of the world walks. I want to become a new person and live for the purpose for which I was created.”
In Galatians 5:13 it says, “For you were called to be free brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.” The “opportunity for the flesh” is another way of saying to God, “I want to do it my way and not yours.” God’s way is freedom because when we are walking in His love, we experience liberty that we can never find inside of us.
How can you apply these truths to your life? May I suggest to get in a quiet place and talk with God. Ask Him to show you if there are areas in your life that have not be given up to Him. Are you enslaved to something that if you had to stop doing it, you would not be able to? Write these down and talk to God about it through prayer. He hears our voices as we begin praying or simply talking with him.
Finally, you may come to a point where you are ready to give your life to Christ! You might want to pray something like this: “God, I know I am enslaved to other things besides you. I want to reject these things in my life and come to believe that you are my Lord and Savior. I believe that you died on a cross so that I may live and know God, our heavenly Father. Thank you for coming into my life and making me a new creation.
