Freedom plus love equals service toward others

​9-2-22

Today's devotion is based on Galatians 5:13, "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love."

Paul explains freedom not as an opportunity for self-indulgence but as an opportunity for service to others through love. This seems counterintuitive to our world where the phrase, 'I can do whatever I want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else,' is an excuse for behavior that does not care about others, nor does it demonstrate what it is honestly like to be free.

Freedom is to live a life of faith, working through love and serving others, just as Jesus lived and died for all people. Living without love, Paul warns, is to live a destructive life where no one is left unscathed. Humbly serving those who are our neighbors is all the law we need.
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Please pray with me; Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit who has brought and kept me in the faith of Jesus and his incredible grace toward me. Help me to serve my neighbors in love. In your precious name, I pray. Amen.