Set free
by Pastor Mark Lieschke
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It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery (Galatians 5:1).
Read Galatians 5:1–15
We’ve been rescued. We’ve been set free from sin and death and the power of the devil. We didn’t earn this freedom or get it as a reward for good behaviour. We have received it purely because it is a gift from God.
And we’ve been rescued so that we can use our freedom to serve the people around us. We’re freed from having to worry about ourselves and our future so that we can concentrate on and be concerned about the needs and welfare of others.
We can very easily acknowledge and accept the fact that we’ve been set free from all the demands of the law and that we’re free to make choices for ourselves and make decisions about how we’re to live and act without being hemmed in by a rigid and legalistic set of rules and regulations. But we don’t always acknowledge as quickly that God has rescued us so that we can use our freedom to serve others.
We’re free – free to make decisions about how we’re to live and act. As God’s people with his Spirit within us, we’re called to make decisions and choices with the best interests of others in mind.
And we can do that. We can serve others because we’re free people. We’re not slaves to sin, the law, death, Satan, or even ourselves. We’re freed from all that. We’ve been rescued.
We’re free to serve, give, love and walk in God’s ways – and do so willingly, joyfully and confidently. That’s what comes when the good news of Jesus takes hold of us and when we want to show our gratitude for all he’s done for us.
Praise God for your freedom. Live in it. And use it so that other people around you will experience God’s love through you.
Loving Lord Jesus, thank you for the freedom from the demands of the law that we enjoy. Help us to use our freedom in the service of others. Give us strength, wisdom and patience to give to others as you have given of yourself to us. Amen.
Mark Lieschke is a retired pastor living on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. He served in parishes in Adelaide, Palmerston North and Marton (New Zealand), and Wagga Wagga (school and congregation), before being elected as bishop of the NSW District of the LCANZ. He and Meredith have four children (two live in Canada) and two grandchildren. Mark enjoys spending time with family and friends, travelling, walking on the beach and resting.
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