Serve!

Serve!

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. Galatians 5:13 NIV

The Context and Focus:

Paul had a running battle with the Jewish customs and traditions of his time, as well as the authorities who would keep people in bondage to these customs. One of such customs that the authorities tried to impose and sustain was the circumcision of the flesh. They held it up as the only way for anyone to be accepted by God, because it was the physical symbol of the covenant God made with Abraham, the one we call our father of faith. It is also forgotten that what was first and foremost noticed and credited to the man Abraham was his faith, before God then required him to physically circumcise all the males in his household. I do not know if anyone of these leaders at the time considered the value or importance of physical circumcision by a man who is convicted as a murderer and is put to death for the offence. Of what value would the act of circumcision be, when he stands before the judgement seat of God, and there is no record of his submission to, and acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Saviour? This very important distinction is what Paul tried to make throughout the letter he wrote to the church in Galatia. As it was then, so is it now: men are still trying to win God's approval by the things he considers secondary, even as they forget or simply ignore the things he considers primary and fundamental. 

The Message:

It was for freedom that God called us. For those who became slaves under the old Jewish customs, they all looked forward to the year of Jubilee when they would be set free, and given all that had before they were sold as slaves. This was physical freedom. Picture the equivalent of this for God's children. His purpose for us is freedom: from the power of sin. This is the freedom that drives all other types of freedom. Until a man is free from the power of sin, he is a slave to the power of the flesh. This is quite obvious from the verse above: all of us must serve one master or the other. If you want, you can share the devotion to two different masters, but you cannot be equally devoted to two opposing views or positions at the same time. As Jesus made clear, you cannot serve both God and mammon. You are either subject to the power of the flesh, indulging it and satisfying its evil desires, or you are subject to the power of God's love, and daily living out its dictates. You are not gifted enough to play both sides, and to fully satisfy the dictates and demands of both sides. No matter how hard you pull, or how long you push, the desires of God and the world are parallel lines that can NEVER meet. The end of the desires of the flesh is eternal death, and the end of the desires of the Spirit of God is life eternal.

The Conclusion:

Now that God's desire for me has been firmly established, there is a need to determine what is expected of me going forward. The proof of my inner conviction will be seen in my outer profession. I have been made free by God, not by the exercise of my own freewill, or by virtue of the country I was born into, but by the call of God upon my life into a new walk with God. I must then live my life in daily gratitude for all that I have received. It will amount to sheer ingratitude for me to make room for the flesh again; after all, whilst I was of the world, there were no eternal benefits to look forward to. The flesh had nothing of value to give me, and all it gave, it would take away eventually. The one who is in God is set free to love as God loved him. It is possible to give out of that which you have received; it is impossible to draw out water from a well that has no water in it. Serving other people is proof that I love as God has loved me; serving others is proof that I am free, and that freedom is my ticket to please God as much as I can. I serve with love; I serve with humility. I serve from a place of total surrender and submission to God. Men will see and ask me for the basis of my commitment, and I will point them out to the God who sets free. The gift is there for all who will come; time is of essence. A day comes when the offer is withdrawn, and repentance will be too late. Come! Take up the offer, and walk in the freedom that leads to impact down here, and eternal life with God up in heaven. God's time of favour is here.