WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THE FREEDOM YOU RECEIVED?

uyobong (71)in #steemchurch • 6 years ago

Galatians 5:13 (KJV) For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

Galatians 5:13 (CEV) My friends, you were chosen to be free. So don't use your freedom as an excuse to do anything you want. Use it as an opportunity to serve each other with love. All that the Law says can be summed up in the command to love others as much as you love yourself. But if you keep attacking each other like wild animals, you had better watch out or you will destroy yourselves.

It gives me great joy to share this message with after few days if inactivity. My blogging device suffered power-related issues, thank God that 70% of the issues are fixed.

A few days ago while reprimanding a young person, he replied that “he needs freedom”. I queried the need for the freedom and his response was “so that I can live my life the way it pleases me and be happy with myself”. It dawn on me the level of ignorance about life and the scripture and sharing Galatians 5: 13 was an tool to engage.

Many of us like the young man are in dire search for freedom to satisfy our personal ambitions and goals. One may ask, “is the blockchain not a platform towards freedom?”. The answer would be that blockchain actually comes with a promise of freedom. However, we need to have a deeper understanding of the terms of freedom it offers. While the centralized platforms are characterized with injustice and burden on the common man; blockchain tends to give every man a stake and an opportunity to access the blessings life offers; a reason the steem blockchain utilizes the peer-to-peer reward system. Here , it behoves that the stake each user accrues are to be used to encourage other users via like and votes, etc.

Back to the context of our discourse, Paul the apostle of Christ in his epistle to the Galatians admonished them on what the freedom we have in Christ is meant to be used for. The scripture in Galatians 5:13 carefully outlines the essence of our freedom which Christ affords us. Let’s take a look at salient points raised in the verse of the scripture.

1. You were chosen to be free

My friends, you were chosen to be free… (Gal 5: 13, CEV)

First, we have to come to terms with this understanding that the freedom we have and now celebrate in Christ did not come from our struggle, rather, we were “granted”. While we were in darkness, we were chained by the demands of the laws which were somewhat impossible to completely satisfy. Yet, there is goodnews that Christ called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2: 9-10). He chose us when we never knew what would have become of our lives.

2. Freedom is not for self

… So don't use your freedom as an excuse to do anything you want…(Gal 5: 13, CEV)

Friend, the freedom we have is not a license to idleness and laxity. Many have sought for immature rest, thus, they excuse themselves to rest from responsibilities when it was time for work. The freedom we receive is not an excuse for us to seclude ourselves from others. It is not a call to serve self, rather, the freedom loosed us from the chains to allow us do our work with ease. The freedom is a lubrication for our stiffed joints for more mobility and work.

3. Our Freedom is to exercise Love

… Use it as an opportunity to serve each other with love…(Gal 5: 13, CEV)

We have been admonished to utilize the freedom to share the love we’ve received. The freedom is to enable us lose others from the chains which kept them bound. It takes love to be willing to help others out from captivity. We Jesus our master even as He died, went into the hades and loosed the believers that were bound and they resurrected with him. Losing others from captivity as we see was a cardinal objective of Christ as prophesied by Isaiah and He (Christ) confirmed it in Luke 4. This is the height of love being shared – helping others to come to come to the point of sharing the love we have received. Sharing love may come in terms of giving time, gifts, advice, prayer, encouragement, guidance, and being an example.

All that the Law says can be summed up in the command to love others as much as you love yourself.

This was Jesus’ summary of God’s commandments for man as recorded in Matthew 22: 37-38. Our principal call is to love – loving God and loving people.

4. Our freedom is not to exercise strife

The scripture refers to those who utilize their freedom to strife as “animals”

… But if you keep attacking each other like wild animals, you had better watch out or you will destroy yourselves…(Gal 5: 13, CEV)

Sadly today, we have human vampires, they take advantage of God’s liberty on them to oppress others. This is an anomaly which is only acceptable within the dealings of animals not humans. We all have to wake up to this reality and shun strife. Everything we have were given to us and this we must be grateful for.