"For you were called to freedom," Galatians 5:13.
To what end, freedom? To what function? Not to vent any and all want. Not to defy authority. Not to go against conscience. Not as pretext for evil. Not to avoid paying taxes. Not to give disrespect. Not to dishonor. Not to yield to rage. Well! What, pray tell, is freedom for if not for those things? I mean, if we can't have tea parties in Boston or elsewhere, then what's freedom about? (Careful now: if we consume each other, there aren't leftovers!) Instead, it's freedom to serve one another in love. Free to express love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Free to end self-conceit, to end provoking and envying. Indeed, free to bear one another's burdens. To sow to the Spirit. To glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Free, finally, from fear, to trust God.
As we mindfully obey the Lord together, the power of his Spirit reaches through to an angry and dysfunctional world, and convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment. We will give thanks today with a brother or sister, transformed by God's call to functional liberty.
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