Galatians 5:1 – Verse of the Day 10/15/14

Is a person who chooses to do whatever he or she wants truly free? What if that person chooses to do bad things that only result in bad consequences? While at first we might say that freedom is the ability to do whatever we want, upon further thought we realize that freedom is really much more than that. 

In Paul’s day people frequently spoke of God’s law as a “yoke,” that bound those under it just like a farming yoke binds a pair of oxen to the plow. Paul’s point is that this understanding of the Law was completely wrong. For Paul, the person who follows the Law finds the way to life. The problem is not with the Law but with our inability to follow it. In other words, the Law shows us how sinful we are and how we need a savior.

God has set us free from the law’s condemnation in order to set us free for the law’s guidance. Spend some time in prayer thanking God that he has forgiven us for breaking His holy and perfect Law. What a gift that Jesus fulfilled the Law for us in order that we might be saved! Thank God also for the gift of His Law as a guide to wise living, and pray that He would give you the strength and desire to live freely according to it!