So then, friends, we are children, not of the slave woman, but of the free woman. For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.
Freedom is a funny thing. We each desire it, and we have all abused it at one time or another. We also have a strange tendency to turn our freedom over to other people or other things. Paul knew this, and Paul wrestled with the fact that his Gentile converts so easily traded their newly found spiritual freedom in Christ for an ancient, religious prescription of salvation. The Law, which Paul understood and appreciated, could not bring salvation. Salvation came through Christ. Yet preachers arrived in Galatia offering the Ancient Torah as a prerequisite for salvation for Gentile believers. Paul finds himself in the uncomfortable position of speaking against Torah, which was the path of holiness he followed most of his life. “This is not your path,” he says. “This is not your yoke. Christ has set you free from the ancient prescription. The weight of that obligation is off your shoulders. Why would you take it on again? Stand
firm in what I taught you. Your salvation is in Christ.”
A renowned Biblical scholar, William Barclay once wrote “Jesus Christ did not say, ‘I am come that you may have religion,’ but, ‘I am come that you might have life and have it abundantly.’ It was Paul’s fear that people who had once known the splendor of grace would slip back to legalism.” (The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, Daily Study Bible, 37). Paul
was justified in this fear. Even today, legalism seeps into the life of the Church and of Christians. “We’ve never done it that way before,” and “That’s not our way around here,” are, sadly, common phrases in the church. And while few of us would be tempted to turn our lives over to Jewish Torah, we are more than willing to be enslaved by addictions, attitudes, and ways of living that are less than Godly.
Stand firm. Don’t submit to a yoke other than the yoke of Christ. Easter looms right around the corner. This Easter may we celebrate the abundant life we receive in Christ. May the legalism of our church and the slave - masters of our lives take a backseat to the freedom we receive in Jesus Christ.
“Come to Me all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Galatians 5:22 - 25
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self - control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit let us also be guided by the Spirit.
Paul writes quite eloquently of the difference between the life of the person “in Christ” powered by the Holy Spirit, and the life of a person still “in the flesh” fueled by normal human desires and attitudes. In truth each of us engage in daily and hourly struggles between these forces. We are human, and our “flesh,” our normal human desires, never cease. That within us which is lazy, selfish, fractious, cynical or uncharitable would be considered “of the flesh.” Conversely, that within us that by God’s grace is loving, peaceful, patient, kind and generous is“of the Spirit,” and a mark of life “in Christ.”
This beautiful passage doesn’t suggest that the Christian or the Church will be completely free of the struggle or completely free of a “fleshy” nature! Surely not! After all, Paul himself wrote: “I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.” (Romans 7:19). Instead, Paul reminds us that when taken in total, when a Christian life or a Christian
community is sifted and shaken to its roots, when it is given time and nurtured, certain “fruit” comes forth. Things like love, kindness, gentleness and self - control begin to be more prevalent than enmity and strife. Peace, faithfulness and generosity become more of a hallmark than selfishness and bitterness.
Jesus put it this way: “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; each tree is known by its own fruit” (Luke 6:43 - 44). How will we be known? How will our church be known? What “fruit” are we bearing? This Easter we celebrate once again the good news that our “fleshly” nature was put to death on the cross. We may not be perfect. We will make mistakes, but with the guidance of the Spirit, we should see the fruits of a Christ - like life grow in each of us and in our church.
“The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)
Galatians 6:9 - 10
So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then whenever we have an opportunity let us work for the good of all, and especially those of the family of faith.
Anyone who has trained for a marathon, or who loves and supports a marathoner, knows about “the wall.” Somewhere around the 20 - mile marker – with less than a fourth of the race left – most runners report experiencing a serious experience of fatigue. They call this “hitting
the wall.” Doctors and nutritionists explain that at this point in the race, the runner has consumed all available carbohydrates, and must burn fat stores for the energy to continue the race. Short of stopping to eat or slurp energy gel (something most runners can not tolerate) the runner is left to push through this wall, allowing his or her body to make the transition toward burning another kind of energy for the finish of the race. This explains why loved ones and friends often gather at the 20 - mile marker. They know that their runner will need some moral support to push through the wall and finish the race.
As Paul finishes this hot - headed letter to the churches of Galatia, he ends with a more subdued exhortation. “Let us not grow weary,” Paul says. “The life of faith is not a sprint; it is a marathon. You’ve hit the wall and you have to push through. You have the energy, the Spirit, the fuel you need; but you must push through…don’t grow weary in doing what is right…work for good…especially the good of God’s House, the Body of Christ.”
Have you hit the wall? Have you seen the church hit the wall? We shouldn’t be surprised. The spiritual life is, after all, a marathon. We reach moments where we have burned up every available bit of spiritual fuel, and we want to give up. Each of us experiences this at one time or
another. The church that is running the race of faith experiences this on a regular basis. The question is, when we hit the wall, what do we do? Do we give up? Do we stop the race? Or do we push through, taking our cue from the faithful ones lining the street and cheering us on, pushing ourselves and going deeper for spiritual reserves? Marathoners report that after a mile or two of “pushing through” they often feel the fatigue lift, and a new source of energy takes over for the final miles. God can do the same for each of us and for the Church.
“Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)
