Brothers and sisters: For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. (From Galatians 5:1-6)

Freedom is a word that gets tossed around a lot these days.  So, what is freedom?  Many people think freedom is the ability to do and say whatever they want, but freedom is actually the gift we are given to do what is right!  Jesus set us free from our slavery to sin and, because of Christ, we are free to worship, we are free to serve him and our neighbor, we are free to love him and our neighbor, and we are free to follow him in thought, word, and deed!  Being “free” and using that gift to hurt others, to choose our will over God’s, to spout off and put others down on social media, to say whatever we want, to sleep with whomever we want, to make money without considering the methods by which we do so, to do what we want instead of what God wants and what Jesus modeled for us isn’t freedom at all, but that is our submission to the yoke of the slavery to sin.  Follow the true freedom of Jesus—freedom from sin—my sisters and brothers in Christ, not the “freedoms” of the world that lead us back to the yoke of sin and slavery!  Amen!