06-30-20

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
June 30, 2020
Scripture: Galatians 5:1
For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

Thought for the Day: In reading this passage recently, I was struck by the word “again,” a word I had not really noticed before. You can read the passage without the word “again,” and it makes sense. Yet the assumption, or at least my assumption, is that Paul knew many folks in the Galatian community (communities) well enough to know their yokes of slavery. Paul appears concerned that people will find freedom, but only temporarily. What kinds of slavery have you known? Maybe it is addiction, arrogance, selfishness, hatred, narrowness of thinking, etc. I tend to think that all these and others are rooted in fear, low self-worth or guilt. A person, through God’s grace (with counseling and support groups), can often find liberation from these very confining and weighty forces. Yet for most of us, it is not like turning off a light switch. We can too easily submit again to the yoke of slavery. It might come packaged a little differently, but its destructive power remains the same. For me, regular times of self-reflection are absolutely necessary as the yokes of slavery are many, and I feel certain there are still others I have yet to acknowledge and confess.

Prayer: I hope that I will forever see myself as a work in progress. Be for me, O Lord, the gracious guide who continually helps me ask the hard questions about the unacknowledged stuff within me that has kept me from realizing your gift of freedom. Amen.

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