Galatians 4 – 6
Verses 4:1 & 2 open the basis of our lives with Christ:
1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.
That is a great analogy when you think about our growth in Christ. Initially we are children of God and do not understand the full power of God, therefore we don’t have access to it. But as we grow the “guardian”, Jesus, opens our eyes to God and all His glory for us. Often we get jealous of the magnificent revelations people we know have. They go from a life of crime to a follower of Christ in moments. We often follow them thinking they have some wondrous insight into God.
Their story is miraculous, but their foundation is not grounded in Christ. The hope for them is they remain “on fire” before drifting into a life that seems “of god” but is not. As much as we like to think there is a way to skip ahead, really the only “way” is to die. We need to do our “homework” which is read the Bible and learn to connect to God through prayer. Just repeat these steps until you die and somewhere along the line your inheritance will be received. Verse 4:9 asks a great question about how we could ever return to the slavery of sin, but honestly we do all the time.
Verses 5:13 & 14 sum up how we should live in God:
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Freedom is something our country likes to “flaunt” and something we often don’t understand. With more freedom comes more responsibility, it’s not an “E-Ticket” to life. With that responsibility we have a duty to call on God for advice and guidance. We don’t have to “freedom” to do what we want, but rather the freedom to do what we should. Hence why the “flesh” often traps us, we desire money, sex or power more than a relationship with God the Father.
Verse 6:8 gives a great analogy to why we should not exercise ultimate “freedom”:
For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
The saying “you reap what you sow” comes to mind when reading this. If we exercise our freedom to do whatever we want, there are most often consequences to our actions. The one we look at most often is the culture of “free love” which was ignited in the 60’s. They would take an instance of impropriety in the past and apply it to the entire age to say everyone is doing it. Heck, they point to David who could not control his desires and not Bathsheba’s husband who slept at her door so not to dishonor his fellow warriors.
Think about what “free love” has brought us today. Porn is something anybody can get at a click of a mouse all in the name of “free speech.” We no longer have “social diseases that are curable, but we have ones that have “sprung up” that stay with you forever or will end your life prematurely. The insatiable desire for the orgasm has created a sex trade business where their workers become slaves so men can masturbate in them. The “desires” for something different get girls as young as 9 or 10 being forces into this trade.
While one is exercising their “freedom” to “do it” whenever and with whomever they desire has enslaved many. This “freedom” is destroying the world and the lives of millions. And that is just the sex “business” and doesn’t take into account the lives of those who are “forced” into aborting their child or raising it without the fathers help. I often take a “libertarian” view of legalizing drugs and prostitution, but have to pull away from that now seeing the ultimate damage that has on society. We will take our “freedom” and die “protecting it” so we can die exercising it.